Barricades
by SLTora
Summary: Naruto's life couldn't get any worst. Not only did he fail the genin exam, he's somehow managed to crossover into a freaky world. A world where magik exist and those who use it must co-exist in secret with mundane humans. * chapters have been revised as of 7-8-13
1. Chapter 1

**Barricades**

By: SLTora

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good. (revised 7/8/13)

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**One:** Cross-Dimensional What?

* * *

It was supposed to have been easy, so why did everything suddenly turn to utter dog crap? He thought that this was supposed to help him graduate, but none of this had anything to do with him graduating. All of this was about what he held . . . and what Uzumaki Naruto stole.

_It's not true,_ thought Naruto as he clenched the large scroll to his small form. _It can't be true!_

The orange-clad boy froze when a muffled shout came from behind. If he kept silent and still, he might be safe. He'd book it after he caught his breath. He'd just go back to village, to ol' man Hokage. He'd sort this out, and then Naruto would get the truth, because what Mizuki sensei said about the Rule and the _kyuubi no kitsune_ couldn't have been true.

Something landed on the ground nearby. The golden-haired boy slowed his breathing as he could hear two people breathe fast and heavy. He braced against the tree and pulled the unwieldy object that put him in this mess closer. Naruto didn't know whom to trust anymore . . .

"Why, Naruto?" that sounded like Iruka-sensei. "How did you know-" The boy furrowed his brows. There was a soft poof, and Mizuki-sensei said, "-I wasn't, Iruka?"

The boy glanced around the tree to see his teacher Mizuki's back as a chakra-fog evaporated around him. In the distance, Naruto heard his own voice chuckle. Quickly the blue-eyed boy retreated against the tree as he clenched the scroll tighter.

"Because-"Another soft, _pom_, and Iruka-sensei said, "I'm Iruka."

"I can't believe you changed into the very thing that killed your parents, Iruka, just to protect that demon . . . or, was it just to protect the scroll he's holding, hmm?"

"That scroll will never reach your hands, Mizuki." stated Iruka winded.

Naruto looked down to the scroll. Mizuki-sensei didn't tell him it was a forbidden scroll. There were powerful jutsus in the scroll that Mizuki wanted . . . The boy's lips curled into an angry pout as tears burned at his eyes. Naruto might not have been the smartest of aspiring ninja, but he clearly understood what Mizuki-sensei done. It was just as Iruka-sensei said. Mizuki used him . . . he used Naruto to get the scroll for himself. Still, what Mizuki said . . . was it true? Was Naruto the nine-tailed demon fox?

Mizuki chuckled. "You know, Iruka . . . The demon and I am the same."

"What?"

Naruto could feel his very form shake as he listened to the two continue to talk.

"The skills in that scroll . . . You can do whatever the hell you want if you use them!" stated Mizuki in a rather high-pitched tone. "You can't tell me that the demon fox won't try to use them! Imagine the power! He's going to use the jutsus in that scroll to take revenge on the village! You know he'll do it, unlike what you want to assume to believe, Iruka!"

Iruka slowly panted as he uttered, "Yeah . . . the demon fox would do that."

Tears leaked from his eyes as Naruto shot up from the tree and blindly ran. He didn't want to hear anymore. Angrily he wiped away the tears and smudged dirt on his whisker-lined cheeks. He wouldn't hear anymore. All this time, not even Iruka-sensei acknowledged him! And it was all because of him! All because of him being—

"Wa-ahh-ugh!" Naruto lost his footing when the ground abruptly curved at a wicked ninety-degree angle. He clenched onto the scroll as he toppled down unable to see what or where he fell. At first, it felt like a free fall until what felt like a tree branch knocked the air from him. Naruto almost lost grip on the scroll. Branches caught at his jacket and scratched at his skin. The boy crashed to the ground unrelentingly. Pain shot through his leg as he screamed and continued to tumble along the steep incline. Dirt went into his eyes as leaves clung to his hair. When he finally felt himself slowdown from his out of control tumble, the boy's entire world went absolutely black when he smacked face first into a large rock.

* * *

There was a noise . . . was that his alarm clock?

The chirping wasn't too loud, but loud enough to wake him from his sleep. Naruto groaned when he opened his eyes, to quickly shut them. The chirping sound stopped. Was it morning already? _Damn, that was a messed up dream, _he thought bitterly. With a groan, he shifted on the bed only to feel pain. Slowly he fluttered his eyes open. There was a lot of light in the room . . . a little too much. Sunlight cascaded on him through windows that looked nothing like his bedroom windows. There wasn't even any glass in any of the frames. White laced curtains fluttered inward with the warm breeze that blew in from outside. There was a murky, almost salt-like smell in the air instead of the fragrance of cooked food from the vendors down on the streets. The boy glanced around the area, and just by what he saw, Naruto was positive that he wasn't in his room.

"What the hell?" grumbled Naruto as he went to sit up, only to cringe.

Everything in his whole body hurt. Sitting up was out of the question for the twelve-year-old at this point. _What did I do last, _thought the boy as he rubbed his face. He felt the soft cloth of gauze on his forehead. As he feathered his fingers along his face Naruto felt the bandaging run across his nose and left cheek. Bandages were on his arms and even his chest bore a thick elastic wrap that covered most of his torso. That area hurt most, but for the moment, he couldn't really remember how he managed to be so beat up.

After a few minutes, Naruto grit his teeth as he propped up onto his elbows. He flipped the sheet off his form to see that at least whoever bandaged him left his boxers on him. Of course, bandages were on his legs too, but a plaster cast was on his left leg from his knee all the way down to his foot. His small toes peeked out from the end of the off-white plaster.

What happened to him? Did he get in a fight . . . and lost, again? _I bet that bastard Sasuke ambushed me . . . Yeah, he ambushed me and . . . and . . . No, that can't be right. Something else happened. Think, damn it, think! _It was graduation day, and he failed for the third time! _That's right. Mizuki_— it rushed into his memory as anxiety buzzed throughout him. _The scroll!_ Where was the Scroll of Sealing?! Where was Mizuki . . . and Iruka!?

Naruto moved slowly when he sat up. He needed to get back to the Hokage, and make sure that the scroll was safe. However, as he looked around the foreign environment, Naruto saw that he was in some type of shrine or shack. It was a plain area. The walls were made of simple planked wood, and there wasn't much to the room at all. There was just a chair, a few small stands, and then the bed. On the chair folded neatly, was his orange jumpsuit with his goggles set on top.

It was that noise again. It came from a bird. It sat on the window's ledge and softly continued to chirp at Naruto. He never saw a bird like it before. It was a bright blue with a gray and white underbelly, and grey saddle mark upon its back. It sat there for a moment and watched him. It chirped again before it flew away.

"So, you're awake?"

Naruto looked to the doorway with his head cocked to the side confused. It was a woman; well actually, a teenager from what it appeared. She couldn't have been but a few years older than Naruto. She wore all black; skin-tight leather pants, tube top that barely covered her extra-large assets, high-heeled fringed leather boots, and a pair of fingerless studded leather gloves. Bolted around her waist was a series of small and large chains that acted as some type of weird fashion accessory. There was even a chain around her neck like a choker, locked with a padlock. Each step she made to him, those chains lightly clanked.

"I started to wonder if you'd ever wake up. You've been out for a good four days now." said the teen.

Her hair was pitch-black, very curly, wild looking, and long. The woman's skin was incredibly pale. A set of jet-black eyes looked upon him kindly as a small smile lined her red painted lips.

The teen pulled the chair around and sat in it backwards, as she said, "I'm Neme. Who are you?"

Naruto pouted at her accent. It was, weird. He was hesitant to even speak to her, but it didn't seem like any of his teachers were around, or any other ninja for that matter. Maybe this black-clad lady was a ninja . . . then again; she didn't have the Leaf Symbol on her anywhere nor a forehead protector. Being stubborn as he was, Naruto decided to take a defensive approach.

"Like you care what my name is," grumbled Naruto as he looked away from her. Bitterly he added, "Where's ol' man Hokage anyway. Isn't he going to punish me for what I did? What, did Iruka bring me here?"

The teen reached to the nightstand and grabbed a bottle of water. "Here, drink." She tossed the bottle to him and then leaned back in her seat and held the backrest. "And, that all depends, considering I have no idea who or what you're talking about, runt."

He cut his eyes to her and said, "What d'ya mean? Even the civilians know who the Hokage is! He's the leader of the village, lady! The Hokage is the strongest ninja of our village!"

"What village?" questioned Neme in the same rude tone as Naruto. She narrowed her brows and said, "Listen runt, you're not grasping the situation you're in here."

"Don't call me a runt! And, what d'ya mean, lady?" he grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Where am I? Get someone I know! Where's Iruka-sensei!?"

Neme reached to her back pocket and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. She shrugged and said, "Honestly, runt. I don't know. All I know is that you somehow managed to tumble your way here, to my sanctuary," she pulled a cig out of the pack by her lips, "which means you have potential, 'cause not everyone can find this place. Actually, nobody can find this place unless I want them to. See, this place resides within another dimension, a pocket dimension if you will."

"Ugh, what's that?" questioned Naruto very confused.

Neme stared at him for a moment before she said, "Dimension as in an alternative plane of existence and in larger schemes, a completely different universe. The place we are in now is a pocket dimension, because it is connects to the main dimension, but it is merely a small area, like an extended room with no windows. There is only one way in and one way out."

"So . . . what are you saying?" asked the blonde-haired boy still confounded.

She lit the cigarette and blew the smoke into Naruto's face, which he instantly waved away. "You are not where you belong, which means, you have a problem."

"I don't understand what you're getting at, lady," grumbled Naruto as he shifted on the bed and sat up higher.

"I don't think you belong here," said Neme as Naruto instantly locked eyes with her. "You're currently sitting in the wrong world, catch my drift now?"

Naruto shook his head and muttered, "You're not all there in your head, are you?"

She slumped forward in the chair and said, "Have you ever heard of portals, runt?"

"Stop calling me a runt! And what's a portal?" he grumbled.

Neme nodded and then took another drag from her cig. "It's like a wormhole or a doorway from one dimension to another. They're fairly popular here, considering there are many pocket dimensions that are linked to his realm. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

He merely blinked at her.

"I'm taking that as a no." Naruto watched her as she pushed off the chair and stood. Neme passively said, "I don't think you're from around here, runt. I believe that you're a long ways from home."

"I'm not a runt," muttered Naruto as he looked to the bedding. He picked at the bottle of water and said, "How would you know anyway, that I'm a long way from my home?"

"For starters, you don't speak the native language here. Your language is highly similar to Japanese. Odd enough, you don't look Japanese at all, so I assume that wherever you're from, it's the native language. Each world is different, and each galaxy forms in its own special way." said Neme.

"What d'ya mean another language? How would you even know?" grumbled Naruto with his eyes squinted. "We're talking normal now! I understand you just fine, it's just you talk funny!"

Neme cocked one of her brows and said, "You talked, a lot when you were in out of sleep, and I took care of the language thing while you were unconscious with a spell. Back to the main point, secondly, there are no villages around here. There are towns and cities. This is the twenty-first century on this world, runt. Villages turned into towns as towns turned into cities the further humanity advanced in technology and science, and before you ask-" She puffed on her cig and raised her index finger to keep him from interrupting, "-I'll explain it more later.

"Furthermore, on the main subject, you appeared within an area well known for energy vortexes. The vortex I'm talking about is a swirling mass of energy, which this swirling mass of energy is what creates a shift in the time-space continuum. When that happens it creates an opening called a portal. A portal is basically a tunnel or pathway, if you will, to another time and place." She once again smoked, to exhale the noxious fumes. "And, I think you crossed here through a portal, and somehow accidently ended up here."

She pointed her cigarette at him and said, "You somehow stumbled upon a cross-dimensional pathway. Neme raised her hands to Naruto in gesture and said, "and ended up here in the Milkyway galaxy, on planet Earth, the third-rock from the sun, on the North American continent, in a country called the United States of America, pinpointed down to the state of Florida, in the town of Appaloosa. Now . . . does any of that sound familiar to you, runt."

"No," Naruto looked lost as he mumbled, "I don't get what you're talking about either."

"It's okay . . . I don't really expect you to yet. That's not the real bitch of it though, runt." Neme slid back into the chair and leaned close to Naruto as she smiled mockingly. "The real bitch is that I have no idea where you came from, or how I would get you back. That's the back draw of accidental cross-dimensional travel. If you don't realize you've crossed, or where for that matter, there is no way of knowing how or when you'd be able to cross back into your own world."

The blond-haired boy ran his hands over his face as he mumbled, "I hit my head harder than I thought . . . I'm dreaming . . . Yeah, I'm still knocked out cold, that's all."

"Here," said Neme.

Naruto startled when the forbidden scroll plopped onto his lap. He overlooked the dirty cover, unwilling to touch it. He nudged it away as reality sank in . . . It actually happened. He stole the scroll, learned one of the jutsus within in hopes of graduating to the rank of genin trough a 'secret' test. Mizuki only used him though to get his hands on the Scroll of Sealing. Then those things Mizuki told him about the Rule created for Naruto, and him being the nine-tailed demon fox, all of those things . . .

They were true.

"I don't think you're dreaming, runt. I found that a couple of feet from you when I found you." stated Neme.

Naruto shook his head. "I have to get back home." He looked into Neme's onyx eyes and blurted, "If I don't get back, if I don't take the scroll back, they're all going think that I actually took it for bad reasons like Mizuki made it out to be all along!"

The boy became paranoid as he ranted, "This is bad, this is really bad! Everyone hates me already, and only Mizuki and Iruka know the truth . . . and they were still fighting before I fell . . . Iruka said that the whole village was upset, and everyone was looking for me . . . they're all going to think I split! I have to get home and get this all straightened out!"

"I already told you that I have no way of sending you back. I don't even know where you are from." stated Neme.

"The Elemental Nations," said Naruto desperately as he continued to stare at her. "That's where I'm from! I'm from the Fire Country, Konoha, that's my village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves! If I don't get back now, I'm going to be marked as a traitor, and then I'll never become a ninja! NEVER!"

"Runt," mumbled Neme with a shake of her head. "You don't understand. It is dangerous to try to conjure a portal without knowing a destination. Though, I do know that with practice and proper training, you will be able to send yourself home in time."

Naruto looked skeptical. "I can't practice and train, I have to get home now!"

"I can't send you there!" snapped Neme as she stood from the chair. "There is no way to safely return you back from where you came from without me, myself, knowing where you are from! It is dangerous, and stupid to even try. I'd take time to find the right path, to seek out the right door. I can't just throw you out into the Empyrean without having a set destination. You could die, runt. Now stop being a baby, and absorb into your brain what I said!"

He stared at her with tearing eyes, to then look away and mumble, "I get it . . ." his eyes focused on the Scroll of Sealing as he said, "Maybe there might be something in here."

"I wouldn't meddle with the spells within there. At least not until you are more experienced to understand them. They appear complicated and advanced. Until you are more experienced, do not try any of those spells. One of them may hold the key to getting you home one day, so don't try to do anything stupid or reckless with that scroll either."

Naruto merely grumbled, "They're called, _jutsus_, not spells. _AND, _you're not my mother."

PLUCK

"OOWWE!" screamed Naruto as he clenched his head. He glared up at Neme with his blue-eyes scowled as he shouted, "What the hell was that for, lady!"

Neme didn't reply. Instead, she stared at the strands of hair she ripped from Naruto's head. Naruto continued to rub the tender spot as he watched the weird woman, only for the rubbing to slow when he watched her place his hair upon her tongue. One of Naruto's eyes went large as the other twitched. Neme closed her eyes as she let the hair settle on her tongue. Slowly she pulled the blond hairs from her mouth, and looked to Naruto with curiosity.

"You are one peculiar kid, runt." said Neme to then take another drag from her cigarette. "Are you familiar with the power that resides within you?"

Naruto looked away from her with scowled eyes. "What, that I'm a demon fox."

Neme blew out her smoke with a calm face, to break out into a cackle of laughter. Naruto looked at her confused as she continued to laugh. She even slipped out of the chair to the floor, which helped to ease her mocking laugh.

"You? A demon! Ha! Ahh, runt, I like you." chuckled Neme as she pulled herself up from the floor.

Naruto scowled and shouted, "Well I am!" He clenched his fist and said, "And I'm not a runt!"

"Please," Neme waved him off and rolled her eyes. "You're one hundred percent human, a preternatural human, and a complete runt for your age."

He scowled and snapped, "How would you know, lady!"

She playfully tugged at his hair and said, "It's all in the hair." When Naruto slapped her hand away, she let out a sigh and showed him the plucked hairs. "See this. Hair is like the ultimate filing cabinet. Being that I'm preternatural, like you, I have an affinity that grants me some strange abilities, one of them allowing me to access your DNA through your hair."

His eyes squinted shut as his mouth was stuck in a 'O' shape. "Huh?"

"DNA is what holds your genetic information, runt. I know now that you are between eleven to thirteen years of age. Your blood is B positive. I can even tell that your very physical and possess a muscle tone those your age in this world do not possess, because you condition your body, so I assume, since you speak of coming from a ninja village, you must've actually trained to become a ninja. Oh, and you eat a lot of sodium and potassium-based foods . . . from what I can tell, it's most likely ramen noodles. Your hair taste like miso."

"Y-You know all that by just tasting my hair?" uttered Naruto in disbelief.

"Duh; I also know that you have great potential, yet it's been wasted. You should be far beyond the capabilities you have now, but you've been underdeveloped. You hold so much power for someone so young. That is where we should begin, on focusing on you molding and controlling your force."

Neme looked away as her face became impassive. Naruto watched her as she became lost within her own thoughts.

"He does not use mana," mumbled Neme to herself as she stared at Naruto's hair in her palm. "He uses another force, a force his body generates itself." She tasted the hair again and closed her eyes, as she mumbled, "Yes . . . I see . . ."

"So," Naruto interrupted in a whisper, "I'm not a nine-tailed demon fox?"

"No," said Neme as she returned her gaze to him. She snuffed out her cigarette and said, "You're not the fox, but you do possess its power."

Naruto's features went from relieved to concern as he said, "What do you mean?"

"Some of your senses are altered, though I don't think you've even noticed it. Even your immune system is effected, you heal much faster than an average human." said Neme as she set her black orbs onto Naruto's blue ones. "Though, this world is different from your own. What force do you use to perform your spells, or jutsus?"

"Cat-tra." replied Naruto.

"Catra . . . Do you mean, chakra?" inquired Neme.

"Yeah, something like that." said Naruto glumly. "It's a mixture of one thing and this other thing . . . well, it's energy that ahh, . . ." he scrunched his face in thought. "I should've paid more attention in class."

Neme's lip curved into a half-frown. "That may be a problem . . . Not that you don't know, but because we use a wholly different force from your people. See, in this realm, most preternaturals use a cosmic force provided to us through the Celestial Tides. This force is called, mana."

"Mana," recited Naruto. He scowled in thought and asked, "What is the Celestial Tides?"

"Magik," said Neme with a soft smile. "Not an illusionist magic spelt m-a-g-i-c, but the supernatural type spelt m-a-g-i-k. It is through the Celestial Tides that we gain this magic-point. It is the source of energy that binds the entire Universe together. It is omnipresent – that means it is everywhere – and it permeates throughout everything – that means that it is flows within everything, the air, the ground, the bed you're on, even within you – and it is composed of light and darkness, harmony and chaos, life and death . . ." she paused to insure the boy listened to her words. "It is from the Celestial Tides, we gain our power to perform our own supernatural abilities and perform spells. We call this power, mana. As the Celestial Tides, mana exist within and all around, but it is not as potent, nor as dangerous as the pure force of the Celestial Tides . . . Which, makes me wonder."

Naruto pouted. "Makes you wonder what?"

"I'm not entirely sure how the Celestial Tides will affect you here. From what I can tell, the power of the Tides is more turbulent here than it is in your world."

"What does that mean?"

Neme slightly frowned, "Think of a still pond."

"Okay."

"It has a mirror finish, perfect with no movement of the water whatsoever. Now, within this pond two rocks stick out of the water. One is near the center of the pond, the other further, closer to the shore." said Neme as Naruto hung on to every world. "Now, imagine that from the very center of this pond, a fountain of water suddenly appears and disrupts the tranquility of the still pond."

"It starts waves and ripples," mumbled Naruto.

"Right," replied Neme with a nod. "Now, this fountain does not go away. It is to continue flowing as a geyser from the center of the pond for the rest of eternity. Now, the rock nearest the fountain is being crashed upon by the waves from the fountain."

"The one further away only gets small ripples and waves." said Naruto in understanding.

Neme smiled and said, "You catch on fairly quick. This world is like the rock nearest the fountain, as your world is furthest from the fountain. As I told you before, runt . . . The Celestial Tides affects everything differently. Some places it is more potent and affects it to great extremes, as other places it is more dormant and weak. Because of the more raw force that is directed at this world, I'm not entirely sure how the Celestial Tides will affect you or your tenant while you are here."

Naruto raised a brow in confusion, "My tenant?"

The wall across the room gained white lines that glowed pale and lightly hummed. Neme looked back to the wall with a smirk on her face. The glowing lines appeared almost like a door . . . and Naruto watched as the wall within the rectangular lines pushed open on invisible hinges. The light was bright enough for Naruto to shield his eyes, but it quickly faded. As he looked upon the wall again, Naruto knew that it was a door, but it appeared out of nowhere.

He'd never saw anything like it before. Beyond the door, he could see a slightly dark room, one where clothes hung from a long pole that stretched across the frame. He cocked his head to the right as he thought it looked an awfully lot like a closet. Something shuffled through the clothes to push through and stumble out into the room.

It was a girl. With a grunt, she dragged a bag into the room, and then let out a huff of air. She might have been his age, or maybe a bit younger. She pulled her metallic black hair into a high ponytail on her head as she nudged the door closed with her foot. Her ghost bangs hid her eyes from Naruto's sight. The girl wore a pair of jean shorts, and a turquoise tank top that complemented her olive-toned skin.

Neme instantly approached the girl. "Ahh, my apprentice, you're just in time."

A smile formed on the girl's face. "Hello, Lady Neme."

Naruto watched as the glowing lines on the wall faded, and the door that was once there vanished. It returned to a regular planked wall.

"Cool," he mumbled, which instantly caused the girl to turn her attention to him.

Her eyes were red, a deep intense garnet red. They almost seemed to glow . . . It wasn't unnatural in Konoha for people to have red eyes, so he kept eye contact with her. This seemed to really fluster the girl as she adverted her eyes and kept it so he couldn't see them.

"Hi," she mumbled as a blush crept onto her cheeks. "I'm glad to see that you're awake now." She pulled a large brown duffel bag toward him and said, "I found some clothes that might fit ya." She let the bag rest next to the bed. "They're not the best of clothes, but I reckoned they'd work for now, at least 'til ya can pick out what ya want."

Naruto didn't say anything as the girl timidly smiled.

"Oh, and I brought some things that ya can eat! I know that ya have to be hungry," stated the girl as she zipped open the duffle and began to rummage through the items. "I wasn't sure what ya'd like to eat and I didn't have a whole-lot to bring, so I got some peanut butter, crackers, a few cans of chicken noodle soup, uh . . . Ooh, some apples and cookies, then some of this noodle stuff called ramen. It's really good dry or cooked!"

"Ramen," mumbled Naruto now interested in the food the girl showed him.

She nodded and held the pack of packaged noodles for the boy to take. "Yeah, Aunt Miranda doesn't really like cooking for me, so she gets that so I can cook somethin' for me to eat after school, but I'm not allowed to use to the stove, and we ain't got no microwave, so I usually eat it dry."

"You're still in school?" asked Naruto as he took the package and overlooked it. He couldn't read any of the strange writing on it.

"Mm-hm." The black haired girl nodded. "I'm in the sixth grade now. Aren't you still in school?"

Naruto grimaced as he said, "Before all of this, I'd just took my graduation test at the academy."

Instantly the girl's red-eyes locked onto his blue ones. "You were going to graduate from school already? I have until I'm at least eighteen before I'll even get up to my graduation! You must be super smart!"

"Heh, heh, yeah," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I failed the last exam . . . so, I'm not a ninja, yet."

The girl blinked at him. "A ninja? You trained to be a ninja. That's so cool!" Her shoulders stooped as she looked away and grumbled, "I'm trainin' to be a priestess."

Naruto's eyes scowled. "A priestess? Why?"

She frowned, "Well, actually . . . I'm trainin' to be an exorcist, because of . . . well, for certain reasons."

He scratched his head and said, "I guess that's cool."

"Yeah, kinda," replied the black-haired girl. A smile appeared on her face as she said, "You're a really nice guy, aren't you?"

He blinked at her slightly stunned for a moment before he mumbled, "I guess so."

"Well, I think ya are. I'm Rue Calamity Hargrave," her hand reached out to him as she smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He merely stared at her, until he timidly raised his own hand. "Uzumaki Naruto." replied the boy as he gently took the girls hand and shook it.

They both smiled. This girl seemed okay to Naruto. She had the strangest accent, but it suited her. Then there was her eyes, they were pretty in their own way, and somewhat scary. It was almost as if she could see beyond him, that she could see his soul.

"Nice to meet you?" mumbled Naruto awkwardly as he released her hand. He scratched at his cheek thoughtfully and asked, "Why do you have three names?"

"Rue is my first, Calamity is my middle, and Hargrave is my family name." she said as she counted them down on her fingers.

"Oh . . . well, that's different from what I'm used to. You say it different from home too." said Naruto. "We say our family names first, then our name."

"So, you're first name is, Naruto?"

"Yep! And yours is, Rue, right." said the boy as his smile grew.

Rue nodded as she smiled.

"Oh, how cute, you're both getting along," teased Neme as she grew a dull expression.

Naruto glared and raised his middle finger to Neme, as Rue's cheeks flushed furiously as she pouted, "Lady Neme, don't be mean!"

"I'm never mean," Neme leaned against the wall as she pulled out another cigarette. "And, you were right, prentice . . . about the spirit within, runt, there."

"It's a fox . . . Like Miss Eah?" asked Rue excited. "I just knew it was!"

"A fox yes, but nothing like your totem." replied Neme.

Naruto looked between the two and said, "Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Neme said, "It was because of her I even found you. She sensed the fox while training four days ago."

"Yeah, he's a real ornery thing." said Rue. "He's got some anger issues too . . . he kept talkin' about being cramped up in ya, wanting to be freed." she looked to Naruto and said, "He said a whole lot more too, but I shouldn't repeat the words and nonsense that ol' mad fox said."

Naruto kept his eyes upon hers as he mumbled, "You can hear it?" his eyes scowled anxiously as he shouted, "Wait, you mean the fox, the demon fox is within me!?" He started to overlook his form as he frantically waved his arms and spat, "Where is it!? How can I get it out of me!?"

Rue cocked her eyebrow and said, "I don't think ya can just go and get him up out of ya."

Neme nodded. "The fox's energy is a part of your own. How or why, I do not know. Though, I'm assuming that is how it was designed when the fox was placed into you, not only for you to possibly use the fox's power, but also to tie your very lives together."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto as he stopped his comical thrashing.

"That means if you die, the fox will die too, in turn means if the fox dies I'm assuming that you will die too. So, to make it short and where you can understand numbskull, to separate the two of you at this time would be suicide." replied Neme.

"You're wrong," uttered Naruto as he rubbed his hands over his face as tears once more burnt at his eyes. "That's all wrong, it has to be wrong! The Forth Hokage killed the fox . . . He killed it, so why is it in me if he killed it!?"

Neme let out a sigh and crossed her arms, "It's not wrong . . . It's in your scroll."

"What's in the scroll?" spat Naruto as he glared at his balled fist on his lap.

"There is note in there, a written record . . . The nine-tailed fox was too powerful to destroy, being that it is a cerature of great power. You're Fourth Hokage could not destroy the fox, but instead had to seal it within a sutiable medium. You are that medium." stated Neme as she kept her tone and expression impassive. "In a sense, you have been give both a curse and a gift."

Naruto rubbed at his eyes and grumbled, "And to think that I idolized that guy . . . I don't get it though. Why me?"

"It must've been for a reason, Naruto. I mean, the fox ain't a pleasant creature. He must've been really bad to be sealed up inside of you." a smile crossed her lips. "You must be really strong to be able to hold that ol' fox within ya, and not give into the hate he emits. Maybe that's why this Fourth fellow caged the fox up inside ya, 'cause he knew you'd be able to handle it."

Naruto frowned as he looked at his hands. "I didn't even know that it was in me. I didn't even know anything about the fox until I stole that stupid scroll . . . I was lead to believe that _I_ was the demon. I . . . I didn't know the thing was sealed up within me." He scowled angrily and said, "Stupid Fourth . . . Stupid demon! It makes sense . . . Why it was a secret, a stupid rule about me . . . Because of the stupid thing that dumb Hokage done I've been hated and I didn't know why everyone hated me . . . it was because of the stupid fox! They destroyed my life!"

Rue pouted her lips and said, "You shouldn't be angry or castin' your hate toward either the fox or this Hokage person. Do ya really think the fox wants to be caged up within ya? Do you think that he planned to be thrown within ya and locked away?"

Naruto looked up at her. "How would I know!? I don't know how demons think!"

Rue narrowed her brows and said, "He's not a demon. The creature within ya, it's not a thing. It is a spirit, and he too has feelings as you do. Before ya go casting stones, why don't ya try puttin' yourself in his place and quit giving him more negativity!"

With that said, Rue turned and went out the room. From somewhere within the building a door slammed. Naruto looked out his window and watched the girl went toward a thicket of bushes and vanished from his view.

"Well, that couldn't have gone any better," Neme smirked.

Naruto glared at her and said, "What's her problem anyway . . . she doesn't know me. What right does she have to-"

"She's an eleven-year-old girl who sees and speaks to spirits," interjected Neme. "Even the most vile of creatures, even demons, hold a shard of light within them, runt. That girl sees that small glimmer, even if it's consumed by darkness." She went toward the hall and said, "You didn't mean to, but you offended her." she paused in the entryway and said, "You should rest so you can heal. There is a long path ahead of you."

Naruto watched her walk out as a heavy iron dropped into the pit of his stomach. He was stuck here. In whatever place that Neme woman called it. He couldn't really remember.

"This sucks," he breathed out as he plopped back down onto the comfort of his pillow.

As he stared up at the ceiling, Naruto hoped that maybe, he was dreaming. That perhaps, this was all a realistic dream. His eyes began to droop close as the area seemed to get darker. It wasn't long before his eyes closed he fell back into an unsettled sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:**Naruto is currently 12 in this story, and he's basically just stolen the Scroll of Sealing, or also known as the Forbidden Scroll. Those of you who know Naruto, know where we're starting at . . . from the beginning. Don't take the story too seriously either. It's just one of those, "What If" type of things, and there are going to be quite a few OCs until later in the story. It's probably not going to be what readers expect, but I hope you all enjoy reading it anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good. (revised 7/8/13)

* * *

**Two:** Self-Reflection

* * *

It wasn't a dream.

He'd been in Neme's sanctuary for three days now, a whole week if one were to include the days he laid knocked out. Every time he went to sleep and woke up, Naruto was still there and not in Konoha. Reality settled on him hard as he continued to remind himself he couldn't get back home. There was no safe way to return, no matter how many times he pestered Neme about it. He gave the woman credit, no matter how much he did agitate her she remained patient . . . something his fellow villagers back home wasn't.

It made him wonder what everyone in the village thought of him since he'd been gone. Most likely, the Hokage had ninja out searching for him, looking for him and the scroll, only they'd never find either. He would end up with his face plastered on posters as Konoha's most wanted. Enemy number one, his face and profile forever logged within Konoha's Bingo Book as a missing nin . . . then again, he was never a ninja to begin with. That was what hurt Naruto most. He didn't even get his chance to prove himself.

How was everyone else from his grade doing. Where they out doing missions . . . did anyone wonder where he went? Did anyone miss him? Did anyone even care? He sighed as he imagined how everyone in the village probably rejoiced him being gone. Then again, nobody probably even noticed he was missing. Even with those thoughts circulating within his mind, Naruto couldn't help but miss everyone and thing associated with home.

"This sucks," he grumbled he stared at his reflection in the water.

His hair was still golden-blond, his eyes sapphire blue, he could see the whisker-line birthmarks on his cheeks, and mostly he could see the gloom that settled over his face. He hated feeling all alone . . . He sloshed the water with his foot and disrupted the image.

Naruto leaned back and shifted his cast leg to sit more comfortably on the dock. He kept his un-cast leg dangled in the water to keep cool. At one time, the dock branched out into the lagoon, but most of the wood collapsed into the brackish water from some type of damage.

The Secret Cove, that was what Neme called this place. It was okay with its white sand, weird plants, birds, some reptiles, then the mammals that only crept around at dusk or night, the brown brackish water, and of course the mass variety of damn bugs. It could almost be a paradise, if only this place wasn't infested with mosquitoes and wasn't so damn hot.

He scratched at skin beneath his cast and frowned. Naruto couldn't wait to get the thing off. That Neme lady said that in about three more days the cast could be removed, and Naruto couldn't wait for those days to pass. This place was sticky and warm, very humid unlike Konoha. Florida, this place where he now resided was a hot and paltry land. The days scorched away as the nights were sultry. It was simply a miserable place.

His jumpsuit was too hot to wear in the extreme humidity, and Naruto resorted to wear some of the clothes that Rue brought him. He wore a simple pair of blue-jean cargo shorts. That morning Neme removed the bandages that once covered most of his form, and it felt nice to let the light of the sun warm his aching muscles and healing bruises.

The boy still ran the things around in his mind that he didn't quite understand that well about this place. From what he could understand, he was in a freaky world that had other weird worlds or one-way-in one-way-out rooms attached to it . . . like the Secret Cove. Then there was that crap about the vortexes, and something about holes from worms, and that thing about a pothole . . . He rubbed his head. Naruto wanted to forget about it all for a while. It was hard to though, being that he had nothing to take his mind off any of it.

_I'd be nice to have someone to talk to,_ he thought as he stared out into the glistening water. He picked up one of his collected stones next to him, and skipped it across the water. Neme usually wasn't around during the day. When Naruto asked where she was going, she'd only tell him buisness and just up and leave him there – alone. She'd leave through a technique called, the Chalk Doorway – the very spell Rue used to get there – and then Neme would return the same way. Thinking of Rue, she hadn't returned since she left that night when they first met. The girl hadn't come to train in three days now. It made him wonder if he pissed her off that much.

Maybe she wasn't coming back until he was gone. He offended her . . . _Hmph. What did she know anyway . . . _ He always heard that the nine-tailed fox was a demon. It was nothing but a monster that destroyed and killed. The fox tried to destroy the village! Didn't that classify the fox as a demon? Furthermore, what did Neme mean that Rue saw spirits? Did that mean that girl could see ghost? That was just freaky.

Clomps sounded behind him and threw the boy from his musing. Naruto glanced back and his eyebrows rose in surprise. It was Rue. She wore a light teal sundress with a white leotard beneath, and simple pair of white flip-flops. Around her neck was a small-corded choker that appeared to have some type of weird coin on it. He couldn't remember if he saw her wearing it the last time he saw her or not.

"How are ya doing, Naruto," she asked as a smile creased on her lips and she held out a yellow Popsicle to him.

He accepted the frozen treat and grumbled, "It doesn't hurt to move anymore, and I can actually get up to go to the bathroom without using that stupid crutch. So, I guess I'm doing okay."

Rue slipped off her flops, and then took a seat next to him. She submerged her feet into the cool water and then gazed over the scenery. They sat there silently for a good while. Rue continued to suck on her icy-pop, as Naruto's steadily melted onto his fingers and down onto the dock. The silence became overbearing.

"Are you still pissed at me?" asked Naruto as he kept his glare on the water.

Instantly Rue turned to him and uttered, "Huh?"

"Are you still pissed off at me?" he asked with scowled squinted eyes.

She blinked slowly before she mumbled, "What'd ya mean?" He stared at her until she uttered, "Um . . . No . . . I'm not angry. I wasn't really angry, just kinda riled." She cast her eyes down to the water and said, "I'm sorry if I upset ya, I didn't mean to, Naruto."

He watched her as she frowned and her shoulders stooped. Naruto suddenly felt guilty. Rue looked . . . sad. He didn't mean to make her sad. However . . . in his defense, it was her fault!

"I didn't mean to sound mean." mumbled Naruto as he frowned. He looked into the water's reflection as he mumbled, "You're too nice." to then place the Popsicle in his mouth.

Rue looked at him troubled and said, "Too nice?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe nice isn't the word. It's more like you're really sensitive."

Once again, the girl frowned as she stared at him. Her lip lightly quivered as she looked away from him. "I reckon that I do overreact," whispered the girl solemnly.

Naruto pulled the icy-pop from this mouth and said, "No, it's not that either. You didn't overreact; you just took what I said the wrong way."

This really made the girl look gloomy. Rue kept silent and stared down into the water. Naruto looked out into the water's horizon in thought. What was the word he was looking for that would explain it all better? He continued to suckle on the Popsicle as he thought about it. Naruto looked back down into his reflection as he thought and studied his own image on the water's surface. Slowly he lowered the icy-pop, as he stared at his reflection and the reflection of the girl next to him.

They were like night and day, cool and warm, darkness and light. She looked sad and unsure of herself, as Naruto appeared angry and haughty. What was it they were talking about again? And why did everything he say only seem to make Rue sad? As he watched their reflections, it all hit him at once.

Naruto groaned as he shook his head. "I'm such an idiot."

Rue was being nice as ever to him, and he wasn't used to that. Normally everyone made jokes about him, smarted off to him, reprimanded him, made fun of him, or just didn't talk to him at all. Rue actually smiled when she looked at him. She even kept eye contact. She was nice and trying to be pleasant toward him and all he could do was be a complete ass to her.

"Huh?" mumbled Rue as she looked at him confused.

"It's not you," muttered Naruto as he continued to stare at his scowled face, "It's me. I'm stupid. I'm rude." Rue merely watched him as Naruto pouted at himself and said, "I'm always rude, obnoxious, and defensive." He glanced at Rue and said, "I'm not used to someone being nice to me, put it that way. Sorry for being, you know, an ass."

She smiled and said, "You're not an . . . well. You're not a butt. I sorta know what that's like, with people not being nice. I'm sorta used to it truthfully. At least you stand up for yourself. No matter what people do or say to me, I can't say or do a mean thing back. Neme tells me it's 'cause I'm not confident and I lack self-esteem," She tried to smile, only her lips curved into a frown. "I'm rather pathetic, 'cause I won't even stand up for myself. I don't really have any friends, well, except for Jolene. Life gets lonely when ya have no one to experience it with, know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know that feeling; I just don't have any friends at all." replied Naruto glumly.

Rue leveled her eyes to his and said, "I'll be your friend, if ya want that is."

"Really," he uttered offguard. "Why, I mean, yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

Rue nodded and smiled happily. She looked back out over the brown waters and placed her Popsicle back in her mouth. That caused Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Thanks," he said. Rue looked at him slightly confused until he gently waved his Popsicle and said, "For the banana pop."

"Oh, you're welcome." replied Rue with a smile. "Ya have to beat the heat some way or another around here. Neme has it so hot here right now."

"Yeah, it is hot here." grumbled Naruto. He glanced at Rue and said, "Hey, Rue, can I ask you something?" she nodded as she nibbled at the last bit of her frozen treat. "Are you an orphan?"

Rue shook her head, "No . . . I had my Grannie, but she died when I was seven. She took care of me for as long as I could remember cause . . . cause . . ." her voice became a whisper, "My Momma doesn't want me, but she's burdened with me now."

"Why wouldn't your own mom want you?" said Naruto confused.

Rue frowned as she picked at her Popsicle stick. "Cause, I'm different. I'm not right," she looked at him and said, "Look at me, Naruto. I'm a freak."

"Huh? How? You don't look like a freak to me." he said with squinted eyes.

"My eyes are red," stated Rue as Naruto chewed off the last of his Popsicle. "It ain't normal for people to have red eyes, unless they're albino."

"Albino?"

"Yeah, they have some type of condition that makes them really pale skinned and they have pure white hair, and usually pink colored eyes; like a lab rat or white mouse." said Rue as she tossed her popsicle stick into the water. "I'm not albino, so me having these colored eyes marks me as a demon to a lot of people, cause the basic eye colors are black, brown, hazel, blue, and green."

"Really," said Naruto surprised. He tossed his stick away and said, "It's normal where I'm from. You should see the people in Konoha who have red eyes, and purple eyes, and yellow eyes . . . This girl I like; her name's Sakura, she has pink hair. I mean her hair is really a bubble-gum pink color."

"Pink hair, really? Did she dye it?" asked Rue genuinely curious.

Naruto shook his head. "No way, it's natural. Pink and green hair isn't natural here either, huh?"

"No, not unless ya dye your hair and make it a color like that. Black, brown, blonde, and red is the basic colors," replied Rue intrigued. She studied Naruto's face as she said, "To be honest with ya, Naruto, it's unnatural to have birthmarks like ya do too."

He rubbed his left cheek and grumbled, "Figures."

"I think they suit ya though. They look like fox whiskers. I love foxes, they're my favorite animal!" she innocently giggled, "And those there marks make ya look so cute."

He rubbed one of his flushed cheeks as she smiled at him. Well . . . that was unexpected. Nobody ever directed _that_ word at him before . . . Even if it was just for his birthmarks. Nothing about him was cute back home.

"What about you, Naruto? Are you an orphan?"

He nodded submissively. "I have no idea who my parents are. They died the night the nine-tailed fox attacked the village . . ." he unconsciously crossed his arms over his stomach. "The ol' man Hokage always told me that my parents died that night, but never told me who they were or anything else like that. Hell, he didn't even tell me that the Fourth sealed the fox into me. It was a S-Class secret . . ."

"Who's that?" asked Rue. "The Hokage and the Fourth?"

"Oh, yeah. I forget that we're from completely different worlds. The Fourth is the Fourth Hokage. Hokages are the head ninja of the village where I'm from." said Naruto. "That's what I wanted to be, was a Hokage that way everyone in the village would acknowledge me, but anyway . . . the ol' man was the Third Hokage. Story is that the Fourth died defeating the nine-tailed fox, but I now know the truth is that the Fourth died sealing the nine-tails into me for some stupid reason." Naruto let out a deep sigh and said, "But, besides all of that, I guess you could say that the Third Hokage was like a grandfather to me, because he was always around when I was younger. I was allowed to come and go into his office when I was a kid, but I couldn't tell you who took care of me or raised me when I was way younger. I raised myself for the longest . . .

"I lived alone and took care of myself. I wasn't bad off, I mean my parents had to have left something to me, because my bills were paid, I always had money for food, and I had a decent place. The ol' man would always come and check up on me and stuff. He's the one who got me into the ninja academy when I was old enough to go. But, after that his visits stopped." He looked at Rue and said, "I never really thought about it until now, but I guess he had reason to watch over me like he did. It wasn't because I was special or anything . . . It was because of what was within me, because I'm a Jinchurriki."

Rue lightly frowned and said, "I wouldn't think of it as that, Naruto. If he was the leader of the village, he must've been a busy man. Maybe with ya in the academy, the Third Hokage didn't feel that he had to keep tabs on ya as much anymore. School days are usually long, so maybe he felt that you were doin' alright and didn't need as much supervision anymore or something."

"Maybe," agreed Naruto with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's crazy though you livin' all alone," said Rue as Naruto looked at her. "How old are ya, Naruto?"

He said, "Twelve. I'll be thirteen on October tenth."

"October . . . Now that's kinda freaky, 'cause we have an October in our calendar too. We're in September now." said Rue.

"After September is October, then November and December, then the year starts over again with January." said Naruto.

"Wow, that's really cool. That's how our months are. Besides that though, how old were ya when you started to live alone?"

"I don't know. Like seven or eight I think. I can't really remember I know that it was maybe a year or so before I started at the ninja academy." replied Naruto.

Rue's brows rose in surprise, "That's unheard of here. Kids usually have to stay with their parents 'til they're eighteen or something like that, unless they're runaways or orphans with nowhere to go."

"This place is weird," mumbled Naruto. "The weather sucks too."

"It's actually a nice day today for near the equator rainforest weather," sand crunched beneath Neme's boots, for her boots to clump when she walked upon the dock. "Are you ready to get to work, prentice? I think you're ready to learn another spell."

Both children turned around to look at Neme. Rue instantly smiled.

"Yes, ma'am . . ." she pushed up to her feet. "I'm ready." She asked Naruto, "You wanna come too? It's shady over by the training area." She reached her hand out to help him up.

Naruto gripped her hand as he said, "Yeah, I'll tag along."

With a little effort, Rue clumsily managed to help Naruto to his feet. The two were the same height, but very different in contrast. Naruto limped along without use of the dreadful crutch as they followed Neme. They traveled along the sand through a thicket of bushes that Naruto never seen before. Then again, he was on a completely different world now. Of course, the flora of this world would be different from his world.

As they walked, Naruto feathered his hand along the green fan-shaped leaves of the thick brush. With the slightest breeze, the fronds would flutter and clatter. To him, they looked like an excellent place to hide and ambush someone who walked upon the trail. The plants grew so thick and close; anyone could hide within its cover effortlessly.

"What are these plants?" asked Naruto as he looked at Rue.

"Saw palmetto." stated Rue. "They're not fun to walk or run though, 'cause they got these little saw-like teeth on the stems. Hornets like to make nest on the leaves, and rattle snakes like to hide down around the bases." Rue looked dead at Naruto and said, "The rattlesnakes are highly poisonous if they bite ya, so if ya start hearin' this rattle-like noise, stop and start backing away slowly, otherwise the snake might strike ya." said the girl as she kept a slow stride next to him. She extended her arms out in emphasis and said, "They can strike ya from three feet away," she then brought her hands before her mouth and placed her index fingers before her lips as fangs, "and they have these really sharp and long fangs!"

"He'll be educated on the wildlife, prentice, among other things," said Neme. She glanced back at them and said, "Besides trying to find him a Master, I'll need to tutor him until next August, and bring him up to educational standards so he can start school next year."

Rue clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! You can go to school with Jolene and me!"

Naruto almost tripped. "What?"

"I'm assuming that your ninja academy is not like the school my apprentice attends. It has nothing to do with her Craft . . . it has nothing to do with the occult at all actually. She attends a regular normal school, or what someone with a military background as yourself would call a civilian school." stated Neme as she glanced back at the pair.

"Civilian school," uttered Naruto. His lip curled in dejection. "Why would I have to go to a civilian school?"

Neme frowned slightly as she said, "There are still many things you need to learn about this world, runt, and the number one thing you need to understand is that this world is divided. Mundane humans control the Earth while preternatural beings as we are, reside amongst humanity in secret. We've segregated from Mundanes long ago."

"What? Wait, aren't we Human?" questioned Naruto.

"Yes," drawled Neme. "But we are preternatural humans, or Occultist. We're not the same from the humans that dominates the world now."

"What'd ya mean?" asked Naruto.

"Occult humans are those who possess supernatural force as the magoi, witches, and bona fide psychics." stated Neme. "Mundanes are humans who do not possess any type of supernatural powers, they're ordinary people. These humans don't even know that magik truly exist, or that Occultist exist among them."

"Uh-huh," mumbled Naruto as he ran his hand over his hair. "So, what are we considered then? Is Rue a psychic or something since she can see ghost or whatever?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you'd be classified as except for alien; you use chakra as we use mana. As for prentice, she is just your ordinary psychic, a medium between the living and the dead."

Rue nodded and said, "Yep . . . My family comes from a long line of psychics, but my Momma hates it. She hates anything that has to do with my family's traditions and what-not."

"Okay, so . . . what are you, Neme?" asked Naruto curious. "Are you a psychic too?"

A far away expression overcame her features as she said, "I once was a witch. Now, I am a Harionago," She watched Naruto closely and smirked, "Are you frightened?"

The boy blinked as he absorbed the information, "Harionago . . . I've heard of them in ghost stories. They're the barbed-haired women, ghouls that laugh or smile at their prey and if their chosen prey laughs back the Harionago ensnares them and drinks their blood. If you were going to do that to me, you would've done it already, right?"

Neme nodded. "Yes. We're a vampiric race, but we are disciplined and reserved. We need blood to sustain our bodies and keep them youthful in appearance. Without Human blood, our bodies begin to rot and return to a corpse. There are ways to obtain blood without harming humans, or even interacting with them now days."

"How do you become a Harionago exactly?" asked Naruto more to himself. "It just seems unnatural, or unreal."

Neme lightly chuckled, before she said, "It takes centuries of hate and anger to change into a demon. When I was alive, it was during the Archane Dark Ages; an era when a demented magoi, one known as the Betrayer, brought corruption upon the people and lands and forced Mundanes to fear anything of the Occult in the continent of Europe. It forced the hands of Mundane religious leaders to put an end to the destruction and chaos the Betrayer spread across Europe.

"My family practiced Witchcraft, and when one of the Mundane religious groups came to our settlement, they interrogated my family. I watched helplessly as they exicuted my siblings, raped my mother to then stone her to death, and gutted my father like he was a swine. I met the same fate as my mother, only my end came tied to a stake and burned alive . . ." Neme narrowed her eyes and said, "Many years of pure rage eventually changes you . . . and I let it. I let the darkness take me, and I done many evil things in this life . . . It took the right person to save me . . . a woman who could see the light deep within the cold darkness my soul became."

"Whoa . . ." mumbled Naruto.

Rue said, "What happened to the Betrayer? I ain't never heard that story before, Lady Neme."

Neme appeared apprehensive as she said, "Well, what is recorded in Occult history about this incident is false."

"False?" mumbled Rue.

"It doesn't matter. All either of you need to know is that from the events of the one I call the Betrayer, came the Co-Exist Law. The very law that is in effect now." She looked to Naruto and said, "This Law states that all Occult, human, humanoid, and beast, are to co-exist with Mundanes in complete secrecy. Occultist are not to show their true selves, expose their powers or perform any type of Craft before the Mundanes. If we do, Order will find us, and exicute us in order to protect all preternatural life and ways on the Earth."

Naruto appeared conflicted as he said, "Does that mean I wouldn't be able to use my ninja moves in front of other people? That's just stupid . . . what's the point of being who you are if you can't even be who you are?"

"It's just how this world works, runt," said Neme.

Naruto scowled his eyes and said, "Well, this world's secret society sucks ass."

Neme nodded. "Indeed."

Rue said, "Because of the segregation between humans a lot of Occult children attend Mundane schools. It helps us to fit in with modern societies. If ya went, Naruto, it'd help ya learn more about this world, and maybe teach ya some things ya didn't know before. I mean, the mathematics, reading, writing and the other stuff is really important. Plus, if ya don't go to school kids can't do certain things, like get a driver's license in high school."

"Driver's license? What's that?" asked Naruto confused.

"It's a license to drive a car," replied Neme. She snickered, "Judging by your face, you have no idea what a car is."

"It's okay, Naruto." Rue puckered her lips and said, "Well, think of it this way. It does kinda suck going to school and all sometimes, but going to school just makes ya smarter. Plus, as kids we kinda have to . . ." she tapped her lips with her index finger in thought. "It's the law I think to attend some type of school, ain't it Lady Neme?"

Naruto wasn't fond of the idea. He wasn't the best of students when it came to school. The boy thought back to those years when his classmates called him dumb, loser, idiot, stupid and dead-last. If going to this school helped him to become smarter, maybe when he went home he could show them that he was no longer the dead-last . . . that he never was dead-last.

"I can deal with going to a civilian school," mumbled Naruto. "If I absolutely have to that is."

Neme nodded and continued down the path with the two following suit. "Besides this world, what is the technology like in your world, runt?"

He scratched his head and squinted in eyes as he uttered, "Heh? Wha'd ya mean?"

"Do you have televisions in your world? If so, are they black and white or colored? How about computers, runt? Cameras, camcorders, game systems?" inquired Neme.

"Oh, those things," said Naruto with a nod and smile on his face. "We have colored TVs, radios, cameras and stuff like that. The only computer I ever messed with was at the academy. I didn't really like the thing, 'cause it was slow and stupid – black screen, green letters, and a complete waste of time. We have cassette players, VCRs, oh, and electricity that actually powers our houses, microwaves to cook ramen in, some people have telephones but it's mainly the rich civilians who do, and basically a bunch of other junk."

"Interesting, runt." replied Neme.

"I'm not a runt," whined Naruto as he glared at the back of Neme's head.

Rue giggled once again. "Don't take it personal, Naruto. She doesn't even call me by my name . . . I haven't earned the right yet."

"What does she call you?"

"Apprentice, or prentice for short." replied Rue. "Lady Neme didn't even call me that though until after I completed her test. Before then, she just called me, kid or girl."

"What kind of test did you have to do?" he asked.

"I killed the monster that used to be in the lagoon, that's why the dock is all messed up. I tell you what, Naruto, that test wasn't fun at all, but I did it and now I'm her apprentice." She grabbed his hand and said, "Come on, I wanna show ya somethin'," and pulled him with her.

Instantly Naruto was dragged away. He wasn't expecting her to grab his hand like that. He wasn't used to someone touching him. Actually, nobody really touched him, unless it was during a spar or being captured by Konoha ninja. It wasn't that bad though . . . holding hands . . . with a girl.

The trail ended where thick grass grew, almost as if by magic. There was an assortment of trees that circled the area, but none of them as large or tall as the ones back home in Konoha . . . except for one. It was massive. It was some type of gigantic oak tree. Heavy branches that drooped down to the ground and ran over it as large snakes to then branch back up toward the heavens. The tree's thick truck spiraled up toward the sky, and the tree had this eerie glow to it.

"Wow," mumbled Naruto as Rue stopped before the tree and the two released their hands.

Rue nodded and said, "That's what I always think when I see it too. This tree is ancient . . . It's as old as the Earth itself."

Naruto slowly moved closer to the tree. As he stepped beneath the tree's canopy, the wind picked up and cascaded a cool breeze upon him. Wind chimes within the tree clanged and clunked, as within the wind Naruto would swear he heard voices. They whispered so low that he couldn't quite make out what they said.

He whispered to Rue, "Can you hear that?"

Her eyes widened. "You can hear them too?"

"I can't understand what its saying," mumbled Naruto as he stepped closer to the tree. "What kind of tree is this?"

"This is the Spirit Tree."

The whispers stopped, along with the wind. Naruto glanced behind him, but Rue wasn't the one who spoke. It wasn't even Neme.

"What?" asked Naruto as he scrutinized the area.

"This tree, it is a Spirit Tree." replied the same feminine voice. "It is a place where energy resides, so naturally, spirits are drawn here."

The voice came from somewhere near the tree. Naruto continued to study the area, until he noticed a set of eyes watching him from within the darkness of the tree's shaded branches. The eyes glowed pale blue and stared right at Naruto. Those glowing eyes continued to watch him as Naruto kept still.

"Why?" asked Naruto.

The ghastly eyes moved and began to appear bigger as the voice said, "Because this tree is sacred, young one." the eyes drew closer upon a branch as Naruto could make out the shape of a small creature. "This tree houses spirits."

"You mean like ghost?" blurted Naruto.

"No," replied the creature as it stopped upon the branch above the blue-eyed boy. It hopped down to the branch nearest him, revealing itself within the light as she said, "spirits of this world, both living and dead are who reside within the Spirit Tree. It is here they can travel between the worlds of the terrene and ethereal."

It was a fox, a small cat-sized fox. Yet, within the sunlight, its eyes continued to glow ethereally. It was nothing like the foxes Naruto was accustom to seeing. This one had ashen grey fur with orange and white that lined its face, neck, and stomach. It had black socks, and _two_ black tipped tails.

"Y-You're a fox." mumbled Naruto shocked.

"And you are an alien boy from another world." replied the vixen rather dully. She flicked her tails and then walked past him to Rue as she greeted, "Mistress."

"How was huntin', Miss Eah?" asked Rue as the fox hopped up onto the girl's neck, to then lie across it.

"Satisfactory." replied the vixen.

Naruto could only stare. The fox could talk. It's mouth moved and everything!

"Naruto," said Rue as she stroked the vixen's head, "This is Miss Eah, my Totem. Miss Eah, this is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yes, the boy from which is unknown," replied Eah. A smile appeared on her muzzle as she said, "The Sylphs are interested in you . . . it was they whose voices you heard within the wind."

"Sylphs?" inquired Naruto perplexed.

Rue said, "They're like fairies . . . I've never seen one before, but they're supposed to look like a fairy. They're the Air Elemental."

Just as the wind picked up, Naruto once again could hear the whispers. An eerie feeling overcame the boy as he stood there and listened. He wished that he could understand what those voices said.

"Why would they be interested in me?" he asked Eah.

Eah shrugged her shoulders and said, "I do not know. I would be cautious of the Sylphs. They are Elementals who care not of human affairs. As the Fae, they can either be helpful to man or malicious."

"Come along now, children," shouted Neme.

Instantly the girl ran ahead and said, "Comin' Lady Neme!"

Naruto too followed, but he glanced back at the ancient tree. He couldn't hear the voices anymore. Definitely, this world was going to take some getting used to.

As he neared the training area, Naruto wondered what kind of exercises an exorcist done. It couldn't have been that strenuous. It was probably all spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

He limped his way along the grass where Rue ran, to see where the apprentice priestess trained. The blond-haired boy paused as he overlooked the area. It was a bit more than what he expected. He could see a rather aggressive obstacle course, a tall wall with various levels for bars to lay across, a padded beam a couple of feet off the ground, a series of logs that protruded six-feet into the air in another area, a large padded platform for sparing, and a whole other amount of things. What the hell was the girl training for? War?

"Go ahead and begin meditation," said Neme as she pulled out her pack of cigarettes.

The red-eyed girl nodded as she continued toward a trio of thick trunk cypress trees that stood center of the area. Naruto watched as Rue took a seat within the shade of the trees on the grass. The girl crossed her legs and rested her hands upon her knees. Then she closed her eyes and began to undergo breathing exercises.

"You can watch if you like, though it'll be a bit boring for a while. If you feel up to it, runt, there are bulls-eye targets over there," she pointed to a fenced off portion near the trees. "You'll find tools of your liking there."

"Cool," said Naruto as he skipped – or more less hobbled quickly – toward the area Neme directed.

It was a typical target practice area with objects set up at various rages. He went into the fenced area and found a weapons rack with a locked cabinet next to it. There were some throwing axes, machetes, and swords, but Naruto's eyes were on the kunai and shuriken.

Timidly he picked one of the kunai up. They wasn't quite like the ones from home, plus they looked new. There wasn't a scratch or nick in any of the weapons there, and the kunai were sharp. They were nothing like what the academy provided, or what Naruto owned.

He twirled one of the blades on his finger, and went into an awkward stance. The cast on his leg really cramped his style, but it'd be off soon enough. He played with the kunai for a few seconds more before he launched it toward a target ten feet away. He didn't quite make the bulls-eye, but it was within the target.

He nodded to himself. All he needed to do was warm up. Instead of sitting around the hut, or wasting away at the docks, he'd have something to do now. He picked up another kunai, and threw it at the same target. Bulls-eye.

"I need my pouch," he mumbled when he reached to his thigh, only for no kunai holster to be there.

Naruto knew that after Neme removed the cast, he'd have to get serious. To get back home he'd have to train, train, and train. There was going to have to be a lot of discipline involved. That was all there was to it. Then, besides the training, he would have to _learn_. Maybe there was some type of ninja academy in this world. Neither Rue or Neme didn't appear confused about the whole ninja thing, so, Naruto figured that ninja had to exist in this world too.

Naruto picked up a handful of shuriken as he mumbled to himself, "Maybe, I could find a ninja master to take me under their apprenticeship in his world. That'd be cool."

He threw the shuriken, and frowned. Two of the shuriken didn't make their mark. He picked up another handful of throwing stars and precisely tossed them into various targets. It would've been so awesome to have a headband, to have the mark of his village to proudly wear. It made him wonder what the rookie teams of genin graduates were doing. Who teamed with whom, and what kind of jounin sensei did they get? Not one of them probably cared that he was gone. Heh, with the burden of the secret Naruto carried, he wondered if anyone knew the truth, or if everyone actually believed that he was a traitor to the village.

"It doesn't matter," said Naruto to himself as he picked up a kunai and threw it at a near target. "I'll prove to them I'm not a traitor."

_I have to train my ass off,_ thought Naruto. _When I get back home, I'm going to show them and earn my headband . . . I will be a ninja of Konoha. _"Dattebayo," he said, to launch a trio of shuriken at one of the targets. Thunk, thunk thunk: all three hit their intended mark in various places of the target.

"You're pretty good."

Neme startled the boy as he quickly turned to her. She strode closer and then stopped before the weapons rack.

"Do you know what a gun is, runt?" asked Neme.

Naruto's brow rose in curiosity. "A what?"

"A gun," replied Neme. She pulled out a set of keys from her pocket, and went to the cabinet. With a small click, she unlocked the cabinet. "It's a weapon that discharges a small missile, or what's called a bullet, at a high velocity. They're one of the main weapons in this world; because they're easy to use, easy to hide, and can easily kill in one shot."

Neme reached into the cabinet and retrieved a black handheld object. It slightly glinted in the light, clearly showing it was made of a metal of some type. It was an oddly shaped weapon, with one end made of a long hollow type barrel, and the other more thick and flat for a handle.

With ease, Neme pulled another smaller rectangular object from the cabinet and then slid it into the thicker grip of the gun. She slammed the piece in and then pointed the gun toward the targets.

BANG, BANG . . . BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! Naruto quickly covered his ears and slightly cowered at the loud pops that rang in the air. The humanoid target in the distance now had six holes in the chest area. Six perfect kill shots.

"Whoa . . ." mumbled Naruto amazed and frightened. "That's . . ."

"Scary?" Neme showed the gun to the boy as she said, "This weapon is one of the most dangerous of creations that man created in this world. It was designed to defend against enemies. Unfortunately, any idiot can use one, and most of the idiots that do use it intentionally to kill innocent people. The military forces of this world use weapons just like this gun to defend their nations, along with more advanced weaponry that is all designed to intimidate and make others fear their power. Men of this world have created weapons that one would only dream of, weapons that can wipe out an entire nation within a single detonation.

"Mundanes may not possess supernatural powers as we do, but they possess powers in science, engineering, and technology far beyond what we can control. I wanted to show you this and tell you, because no matter what kind of power we as Occultist may possess, Mundanes have their own power that produces these things that our magiks nor your jutsu can defend against in most cases. You will learn more about mankind's weapons, and the history of how these things have saved and destroyed millions of lives of this world later on, and eventually how to use and deflect these type of weapons."

Neme removed the gun's magazine and then replaced it all back into the cabinet as Naruto said, "We don't have anything like that back in my world."

"Hope that your world never does, Naruto." replied Neme.

Naruto nodded, but said nothing. His thoughts became heavy. The gun was cool, but also scary as hell. A ninja could dodge a bullet . . . couldn't they? When Neme shot the gun, Naruto didn't even see the bullets come out of the thing. There were just the extremely loud bangs, and then a hole in the target. It was super-fast . . . too fast. Faster than what his eyes could see. Nobody could dodge a bullet. Naruto wasn't even sure if the Fourth Hokage could dodge a bullet, and the Fourth was Konoha's Yellow Flash!

Naruto thought about it, unsure. He became less fond of the gun. Hell, that gun was scarier than Neme admitting that she was a barbed-haired blood-sucking demon. Everything that he learned about Neme, Rue, and this god-awful world should've dampened his spirit and in some way freaked him out, but the gun was the only thing that downright frightened Naruto. It seemed impossible to dodge those bullets . . . and impossible to deflect them even. It was a weapon he never wanted to have to face down, but in the back of his mind, Naruto had a feeling that one day he would.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good. (revised 7/8/13)

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**Three**: Jolene

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Slowly his eyes read over the kanji. The note within the scroll . . . Naruto didn't notice it last time, then again he didn't open the scroll out to the place where the notes were written. It looked like the Third's scrawl along with another's Naruto didn't reconize. It said everything Neme told him. The nine-tail's was too powerful to destroy, and that a portion of the fox's own force was sealed within Naruto not even mintues after his birth. The other portion the Fourth sealed into himself and took it with him in death.

According to the writing, the Fourth wanted Naruto to be seen and treated as a hero. The Third made the rule about him, that way the younger generations were not to know of the burden Naruto carried or the title he bore: Jinchurriki.

It was like a dark cloud settled over him. Naruto didn't feel conflicted about it all, at least not yet. Right now he just had a lot of questions with no one to answer him. The fox was within him, somewhere deep within sealed away, well at least half of the fox was. The main question was why. Why did the Fourth choose him? There was still no metion of that, and there was nothing about Naruto's parents either.

He let out a sigh as he sat on the table. Rue was at the nightstand finishing up math homework. Neme on the other hand was fiddling with a thing she called a power tool. She was going to finally take the cast off. As he watched them he couldn't help but think about them. They had no problems with him being the vessel to a powerful demon-er fox spirit. Neither of them appeared scared at all. Neither of them hated him like the villagers did back home.

_I understand now, _thought the blond-haired boy as he stooped. _Why everyone hated me, why the adults wouldn't let their kids play with me . . . It's because everyone but my generation knew the truth._

"Naruto? Ya okay?"

He looked up to Rue and flashed her one of his fake grins and lied. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just reading about this jutsu I learned before I got here."

She didn't looked convinced, but accepted his answer. He went back to the scroll, and read over the writing of the jutsu. As he read, Naruto learned that the Multiple Shadow Clone technique used up high amounts of chakra, that it was classified as a deadly technique if not used properly. He didn't get chakra exhaustion from using the jutsu, nor did he really get tired like the writing informed. Well, he did get a little tired when he first learned the technique, but not like how the scroll explained the drain would be like. He continued to read, to find out something else he didn't know about the jutsu.

"That's cool," he mumbled. He looked up to Neme as she shifted his leg and said, "I didn't know that the Kage Bushins transferred memories and even their experiences back to me. That's perfect for spying!"

"Interesting," replied Neme as she picked up a the grinder. "Don't move an inch. I'm cutting the cast now."

Rue covered her eyes with her hands and squeaked, "I can't watch this!"

"Is there not a more manageable way to do this, Lady Neme?" questioned Eah as she overlooked from the ceiling's rafters.

Neme frowned at the two and said, "I want to do it this way. It's not like I'm going to cut off his leg or anything. Have some faith in me."

Naruto wasn't the least bit worried. He was too busy reading what he skipped over last time in the Scroll of Sealing. Dust from the cast fibers clouded around his leg as Neme used the power tool to cut through the plaster. Within moments, the grinder was off along with the cast that once constricted Naruto's leg.

He rolled the scroll closed and looked at the skin of his leg. "Wow that looks sick."

His once cast leg was pale compared to his other leg. Then again, Naruto gained a decent tan since being in the Secret Cove. He placed the Scroll of Sealing to the side and bent his knee to better look at his leg.

"Nothing that a bit of air and sunshine won't cure," stated Neme pleased. "I think I did quite well, what about you, runt?"

"I have no complaints." replied Naruto.

"Do ya think he should take it easy on it, to make sure everything healed right?" asked Rue as she looked up at Neme.

Neme shook her head. "Naw, he's strong. Look at his legs. They're both proportioned right. His left leg lost no strength or muscle mass at all."

"Just its color," added Naruto.

"In time, runt," said Neme. She pulled out her cigarettes and said, "Now, being that you will most likely begin training, I would like to see what you can do so I can perhaps mentor you. Other than that, you can venture out into the big world now, runt, but before that we have some things we have to do"

Naruto shifted to the end of the table to let his legs dangle as he said, "Like what?"

"First on the agenda, we need to construct you a concealment, one similar to my apprentice's," said Neme as he pointed to the choker on the smaller girl's neck. "A concealment hides the things about you that are abnormal– like your adorable birthmarks on your face, and it regulates the output of your aura to make it appear natural. In your case, runt, the concealment will also hide the fox's aura that can be sensed within your own aura. For now, I have a simple concealment charm I'll cast upon you until we get you to the expert who can make you actual concealment as powerful as prentices."

"Okay," replied the boy with a nod of his head.

Neme rested her hand on his forehead, and the other over his chest as she said, "I'm going to cast the concealment over you now, so stay still and keep quite."

Naruto nodded as he watched the un-dead teen close her eyes. Within moments he could feel warmth from Neme's hands as she whispered, "Coursing within is powerful might, that mustn't draw attention or unwanted sight. Pull the vale and let them see, a normal child of simplicity." Naruto cringed when he could literally feel static course throughout him, "With this concealment, they will not sense, Naruto Uzumaki's true strength."

There was a brief flash of a deep abysmal black from Neme's hands, and energy rippled over the boy and made his skin tingle as his hairs stood on end. Slowly Neme moved her hands and looked over him.

"How do you feel?"

"Tingly." mumbled Naruto as he scrutinized his arms. He looked back up at Neme and said, "But the feeling is starting to go away."

Neme nodded. "That's good. That means the concealment is working. It'll hide your force, or aura and make it appear more natural, though, I couldn't quite diminish the nine-tails aura. It can still be felt. Plus, this concealment doesn't hide your birthmarks either, so you may get some odd stares or looks from Mundanes."

"Where do we go to get this stronger concealment?" asked Naruto.

"At one time we could go to Rue's own grandmother to have one crafted; Agatha is no longer alive, so now we have to travel to the next best within the area, Pelagia. We can find her island to the west of here, out in the gulf." stated Neme.

"To the cecaelia sea witch?" asked Eah as she flicked her tails. "This should be interesting."

Rue instantly said, "We're going to the beach?! Can Jolene come too!?"

"I don't see why not," replied Neme. "I need to speak with Cracker Jack, and this trip would be the perfect time to do so."

Naruto sat there silently and watched the two. He was amazed at how calm he's been over this entire mess. Deep within him though, there was a part of Naruto freaking out and worried. Konoha was always in the back of his mind, just like the nine-tailed fox was locked up within him. He tried to keep positive, to keep an open mind, but eventually this would all catch up to him and boil out from him in an unpleasant way. There were just too many questions with no one to answer them.

"We need to get Naruto some swimming trunks!" said Rue, throwing Naruto from his stupor.

"After he gets his concealment, we'll go to the mall. How does that sound?" questioned Neme. "He's going to need clothes anyway and it'll do good to get out of this place for a while. Eventually, we'll have to find him a place to live outside of the Cove. This place was created for training and studying, not for long term living."

Rue frowned and her shoulders stooped. "I wish he could just live with me."

Eah shook her head. "It would not work, Mistress. The hag would want to extort his abilities as she tries to do with yours, and the wicked one will not have some strange child in the house."

"Yeah, I know."

"I could just live alone," replied Naruto as he slid his goggles off the counter. He slipped the green specs on that now donned a black leaf-symbol drawn on the center of the band as he mumbled, "That's what I did in Konoha."

"That might be feasible, all we have to do is create the illusion that an adult lives with you, and somehow get you an income so you can live." said Neme.

"I could use the henge jutsu when I go out to go grocery shopping or something." stated Naruto as he adjusted the goggles over his forehead, causing his bangs to push up. "I don't know how I'd go about getting money."

"What does henge mean?" asked Rue.

"It's a transformation jutsu. I can transform myself to look like someone else. It's one of the main academy jutsus we have to learn besides the twelve hand seals, substitution, clone, rope untie , and camouflage jutsus to graduate from the academy." stated Naruto.

"Hand seals," inquired Neme intrigued. "Is that how you focus your chakra to manipulate it into a spell? You don't use wands or staves or anything of the like? No outside medium?"

"Ahh, no. We use hand seals," mumbled Naruto as he squint his eyes in confusion. "I know that's how we make our jutsu work." The boy slid off the table and said, "There's tweleve of them, named after animals. Here, I'll show you you real quick." Naruto positioned his feet on the floor and closed his eyes. He channeled his chakra and then brought his hands together and shifted them to different positions; with each seal as he said, "Dog – Boar – Ram, Transformation Jutsu!"

Naruto's form was engulfed in mist that quickly evaporated. Naruto no longer stood there, but now a perfect replica of Neme. Her long black hair, large breast, skin tight black garb that contrasted against her pale ivory skin, to her pitch black eyes and red painted lips. Each chain she wore was replicated down to a T. The transformed Naruto smiled and said with Neme's voice, "With this jutsu, I can make anyone see me as someone else. It'd be easy for me to henge myself into an adult to come and go from a place."

"It's perfect for espionage," replied Neme impressed.

Rue nodded and said, "That's so cool."

"The hand seals are unique," said Eah. She leaped down from the rafters onto the table and said, "There are no Crafts that use that method to cast spells." she cast her glowing eyes to Neme and said, "It will be hard to find him a master here, for not even the ninja that exist in this age use this style of spellweaving. He may have to convert into another class, as an assassin or rogue."

Neme shook her head, "That won't work. He uses chakra not mana. He'd have to convert any Craft that uses mana into hand seals in order to execute a spell, and converting spells into his form of spellweaving will not be an easy science."

"What other things can ya do, Naruto?" asked Rue, completely out of her Master and Totem's conversation.

In a soft pom sound and chakra mist, Naruto returned to his original form as he said, "I can do all the academy jutsus except for the clone technique. Because of that stupid jutsu, I failed my final exam at the academy because I couldn't produce a clone to save my life." he looked at the scroll and said, "But I learned a B-rank jutsu called the shadow clone jutsu, but they're both completely different. The E-rank clone technique is only images of clones to throw the enemy off, where shadow clones is full bodied clones that obtain a portion of my chakra and can aid me in a fight. I can make a lot of them, up to a hundred so far without feeling any chakra exhaustion."

"That's amazing," mumbled Rue. "That there shadow clone technique is kinda like a maumet, only a maumet is a carbon copy and requires special paper and hair to make."

Neme nodded and said, "Right now there is a maumet of Rue at her home, while she is here so her family does not suspect where she's gone or realize that she is missing."

"Weird," mumbled Naruto.

Neme lit a cigarette and said, "Daylight is burning. Let's go and get this all over with. We still have to pick up acolyte. I've already packed the car with things we may need, so let's go."

Neme retrieved a small off-white piece of chalk from a small shelf on the wall. Naruto watched as she started from the bottom of the wall and drew a line directly up above her head and then went to the left, to then draw the line back to the bottom. She finished the door by connecting the lines at the bottom. Neme replaced the chalk as the lines softly glowed.

Rue smiled brightly and grabbed Naruto's hand and said, "C'moan, Naruto! We're gonna ride in the Jeep!"

Neme pushed open the drawn door that glowed brightly beyond the threshold. Naruto let Rue drag him through the magik doorway and finally out of the Sanctuary he'd been within for over a week. The heat vanished from the cove as he walked right into a downpour of rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance and gently shook the ground. Naruto expected the door to open to a closet as he first saw Rue come through, but the door didn't. Naruto reached his open hand into the cool rain. He looked back into the cove. It wasn't raining in the cove at all.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto as he looked at Rue.

"I think it's cause the Secret Cove isn't really part of the real world, know what I mean?" said Rue. "Neme controls the atmosphere and weather in the Cove, so it's never like how it is out here in the real world."

Naruto watched as rain pooled in his palm as he mumbled, "Where are we now?"

"Near the highway. Lady Neme parks her Jeep here in the woods so people can't see it from the road." stated Rue as she took his hand and to lead him out of the safty of the Cove.

There was no defined path and the rain was blissfully cold. The area appeared completely wild with hardly any human interaction if any at all. It didn't take long for the two of them to get soaked. They pushed through a thicket of brush to come into a clearing where this strange black thing sat that was a major contrast to the wet forest around them. Naruto instantly paused, causing Rue's small hand to slip from his own.

"What is that thing?" asked Naruto rather defensively.

Rue giggled, "That's the Jeep. It's an automobile, what we use to get around. In your world they don't have stuff like this huh?"

Naruto silently shook his head. "We walk or run to where we need to go."

"Even across bodies of water?" asked Rue curious just as lightning flashed.

"We use boats for that." mumbled Naruto.

"Oh, we have them too. Come on, let's get in and out of the rain!" said Rue.

Naruto watched as Rue swung open a door on the Jeep. Eah was first to hop in as thunder rumbled in the distance.

Rue looked back at Naruto and said, "I'll sit in the back so you can ride up front and get a good view of everything, okay!"

The boy didn't respond. He watched Rue move what looked like a seat forward to then climb into the Jeep. Rue then moved the seat back and timidly Naruto neared.

Neme trailed to the other side of the Jeep as she said, "You're not scared, are you, runt?"

"No . . ." He climbed up and then slid into the seat.

"Close the door." said Neme as she stuck a silver thing into this other thing where some type of wheel was located.

Naruto pulled the door closed. Neme reached over him and pulled a strap across him and then latched it to another part that clicked.

"To be safe," said Neme as a smile creased on her lips. "It's a seat belt; kid's your age are required to wear them."

"What? Why?" uttered Naruto.

Neme turned the silver thing and the Jeep rumbled and grumbled startling the boy. Music softly played as lights illuminated odd shapes on a rectangular thing with buttons and knobs. Naruto cautiously looked around to startle when Neme turned up the music and then rested her hand on a shaft with a chrome skull. She moved the shaft, the rumble grew and suddenly they were moving.

Naruto braced his arms to his sides as he watched the world around him pass by as the contraption they were in continued to move and gain speed. Blades swished back and forth on the glass sheild, making it so they could see through the rain. Neme would use her feet to push in what she called a clutch, break, and gas pedals and she'd move the shaft that she called a stick to change gears for something called a manual transmission. The wheel she always had one hand on was called a steering wheel, and it was what she turned either left or right to make the wheels in the front of the Jeep turn the way she desired to go. From what Naruto understood, a vehicle required a lot of gears and mechanisms to run properly. It used an engine that needed something called gasoline to run . . . it was an engineering marvel that his world hasn't even picked up on.

It wasn't so bad riding in this Jeep thing. The woods faded into another clearing where puddles of water stood. Neme followed a limestone path. They rounded around a curve and up a hill. A black top road awaited and Naruto nearly jumped when this huge and long thing sped past on the road. It pushed up a gust of wind, splattered water onto the Jeep, and sounded as if it were roaring when it passed by.

"What the hell was that?!" he asked as he watched the thing continue down the road.

Neme curtly laughed, "That was a truck and trailer, also called a semi or tractor-trailer. They haul commodities that we need all over the place or transfer product."

"It was huge," said Naruto as he looked at Neme amazed. "They make things that big?!"

Neme pulled out onto the road as she said, "You ain't seen nothing yet, runt. Just keep your eyes open and take everything in."

Naruto planned to. As he scrutinized everything that passed by Naruto noticed tall poles with a series of lines that stretched for miles and miles it seemed. They weren't like the ones back home in Konoha, but Naruto figured they were power lines. That meant that this world was hooked up to energy grids too, but far more advanced than his world. Electricity was limited to larger villages as Konoha, as more rural villages didn't even have power back in his world.

They traveled past random houses out in the middle of nowhere. There were cattle pastures, groves full of orange trees, and then plots of thick wildwood. The closer to town they came, the more vehicles filled the road, and the more roads Naruto saw. When they actually entered town, Naruto watched everything that passed by his window. There was no wall to protect the town like Konoha, and the houses were scattered and much different from Konoha's architecture. Large signs Rue called billboards were in random places outside of town, and road signs, stop signs, street lights, and even some type of system of traffic lights that controlled the flow of traffic on the streets.

Down town Appaloosa's buildings were much more congregated and build on top of each other. Rue called this strip of odd buildings the Historic Down Town. The area was full of shops where people walked and browsed the stores, while they left their vehicles parked beside the streets or in areas called parking lots.

They turned at a traffic light and started down another road. The smells of food filtered into the Jeep when they passed an assortment of restaurants and fast food places. There were shops and homes mingled in this area. Neme turned down a small side street and followed it. The houses along the street were nice, and grew in size and more immaculate the further they traveled.

"Jolene lives in an upper class area, 'cause her momma is a lawyer, or something like that. Her daddy is in the military, and her momma works a lot, so they're not home much." said Rue as the Jeep slowed down.

Neme pulled the vehicle off to the side of the road and said, "You both stay in the car. I'll be right back."

"Yes ma'am," said Rue.

Naruto watched as Neme walked up to the house with the rain now a drizzle, and then looked back to Rue and asked, "What is she doing?"

"She's probably gonna make a maumet of Jolene, cause we might not be back for a couple of days. Concealments take time to make, so it's better to be on the safe side 'cause Jolene's momma doesn't know that Jo is an Occultist. Jolene keeps that secret from her parents, 'cause they'd freak out if they knew she was studying necromancy." said Rue as she pet Eah and kept her eyes on the house. She looked at Naruto and said, "How are ya doing anyway?"

He scowled. "What do you mean?"

"How ya doing on taking everything in?" asked Rue. "I know it has to be a lot for ya, being that everything is different and all."

"I don't know," mumbled Naruto with a shake of his head. He lightly chuckled, "I'm actually surprised that I'm not freaking out about all of this. I should be . . . right?"

"Maybe it's 'cause Lady Neme gave ya a potion that keeps ya calm." said Rue. "She didn't want ya having a meltdown or anything."

Naruto blinked. "So, she drugged me?"

"No, medicated ya."

"That's drugging."

"No it ain't."

"Yes it is, Mistress," mumbled Eah.

"It is?"

"Yeah," drawled Naruto. "I should be pissed, but I'm not . . . that potion must be some good stuff. Either that or I just don't care right now . . . or something. I don't know . . ."

The door abruptly opened as a bag suddenly dropped into Naruto's lap as Neme said, "Throw that to the back, quick." He handed the bag to Rue who grabbed it.

"I'm like, so glad you guys got me up out of there. My nanny was like, driving me all kinds of crazy." griped a girl as she slid the driver seat forward.

Naruto watched as a pale slender girl with short strawberry blond hair climbed into the back. She wore blue-jean shorts and a short cut black shirt with a white skull printed on the center. Her eyes were a warm brown, and freckles lightly dusted her nose.

"Come on, Cracker Jack," said the girl.

"I ain't gettin' in that thing with that fox in there." said a male possibly in his mid-thirties.

Jolene crossed her arms and said, "Eah like, isn't going to hurt you."

"She'll eat me." replied the male.

Eah raised her head from Rue's lap and said, "I haven't had rabbit in a while."

"Miss Eah!" whined Rue.

"Come on, Cracker Jack. This is like, important, and if Eah was really going to eat you, wouldn't she have like, done it a long time ago?"

Neme rolled her eyes and sighed. With a gruff she tossed a fluff of white into the car as she grumbled, "Catch."

Jolene quickly wrapped her arms around the while bundle as she giggled and the male said, "Man, I shouldn't be treated like this, especially by someone who needs my help!"

"Bite me," growled Neme.

"Yeah," the white bundle uncoiled from Jolene's arms. A gangly white rabbit with red eyes, a thick patch of fur on its head, and long turfed ears glared at Neme and said, "I wouldn't give you the pleasure."

Neme then pushed the seat back and slid in. She took no extra time to quickly leave and do a U-turn in the middle of the street to head back the way they came. Naruto watched in wonder as the rabbit straightened out its fur on its stomach and then twisted around to check the crinkled and rather gimpy looking wings on its back. The rabbit then rose up on a long coiled tail and flexed its rather pathetic looking wings. Eah glanced at the rabbit only to shake her head and let her eyes close so she could to go back to sleep.

When the rabbit noticed Naruto staring, the rabbit snapped, "What you lookin' at, boy?"

Naruto turned to Neme and asked, "Do all you people have weird animals?"

"No, not all of us." replied Neme as she glanced at him. "Why, are you jealous? Would you like a weird animal of your own, runt?"

"Psh," Naruto pouted and looked away. "What would I do with some weirdo animal?"

"I don't know," said Neme as a smile appeared on her face. "We'll find out later on down the road."

Naruto cut his eyes at her and asked, "What does that mean, lady?"

Neme merely smiled wickedly in response.

"So," The blond girl leaned forward and reached her hand out to Naruto as she said, "What's up, I'm Jolene Montgomery, necromancer in training. The rabbit is my Familiar, Cracker Jack. He's the one teaching me Necromancy."

"Naruto Uzumaki," he mumbled in response as he awkwardly shook her small hand and then released it. "Ninja . . . in training."

Cracker Jack huffed and said, "Don't look like no Ninja to me."

"No one asked you," snapped Naruto as he clenched his fist at the rabbit, that didn't look threatened at all.

"Don't bow up at me, boy. You don't scare me," smirked Cracker Jack.

A dark smiled appeared on Naruto's face as he said, "Heh, you should be. I have a bigger fox than Eah inside of me that's just aching for a meal, rabbit."

Cracker Jack snorted and shifted closer to Jolene. "Hmph . . ."

"Heh, that's right." snickered Naruto.

Jolene giggled and then said, "Has anyone told you that you're like, really cute, Naruto."

Like a deer caught in headlights Naruto stared at her. "Wha'?"

Jolene smiled and said, "You are. I'd like, totally date you."

"Jolene!" twittered Rue embarrassed.

"What, he's cute!" replied Jolene as she leaned back in the seat and propped her hands behind her head. "I mean, what you told me about him like, does the boy no justice." she gestured with her hands at Naruto and said, "He's a lot cuter than what you described to me on the phone, Rue. He's in AILF."

"An AILF? What does that mean?" mumbled Rue.

This caused Neme to laugh. "It's like an acronym, similar to MILF."

Rue looked all the more confused. "What's a MILF?"

"Really, Rue?" giggled Jolene. "Okay, a MILF is a Mother I'd Like to Fu-"

"WHAT? Dagnabbit, Jolene!? Really? Don't go saying it outloud, gosh darn it!?" blurted Rue with her cheeks burning red.

Neme bursted out laughing as she said, "So, and AILF would be an Alien I'd Like to-"

"LA-LA-LA-LA! I'M NOT LISTENIN'!" shouted Rue, causing Jolene and Neme to laugh.

Naruto sat there blown away. He was cute in this world, given he was also an AILF . . . That seemed a bit extream, but they thought he was cute. The girls thought he was cute in this world . . .

"Why couldn't the girls back home see that I was cute?!" Naruto wondered aloud. He propped his hands behind his head and smirked, "It's about time someone realized how damn good looking I am!"

"It hurts, doesn't it," teased Jolene. "Being like, so irresistible."

"Damn straight," said Naruto as a vulpine smile creased on his face. He glanced back at the new girl and said, "I know that I look good."

"You're a conceded one, ain't ya, boy," grumbled Cracker Jack as he crossed his arms. "And for the record, there won't be any AILFing going on while I'm around, got it punk?"

The girls laughed at his smug tone, as Naruto merely rolled his eyes. He didn't plan on doing anything like _that_ while in this freaky place. There was no way he'd be here that long. Naruto let his hands down as he thought that maybe this world wouldn't be so bad after all. He could survive here for a while, as he trained and figured out a way to get back home. That was priority . . . to go home as soon as possible.

"Let's introduce Naruto to McDonalds," said Neme as they turned back onto the main strip.

Jolene and Rue both seemed to be really excited about this. "What's a McDonalds?" asked Naruto.

"FOOD!" shouted Rue and Jolene as Naruto glanced back at them.

"Heh?"

"Fast food," said Neme. "I'll get you all a Happy Meal."

"You like, mean a Mighty Kids Meal," said Jolene. "Four measly chicken nuggets are not like, going to fill me up, Miss Neme."

"Me neither," said Rue. "Can we get a lot of sweet and sour sauce?"

"I'll get extra sauce and nuggets, brats! Considering how much runt eats I may have to order some extra sandwiches anyway. . ." she glanced at the boy and asked, "Now what would you rather have? Hamburger, cheeseburger, or chicken nuggets."

Naruto scratched his cheek thoughtfully and said, "Ramen?"

"Ramen," said Neme dully. "I'm starting to think you have an addiction to that crap, runt."

* * *

It was near dark when they arrived at a the coastal city of Port Charlotte. This place was much larger than Appaloosa, and some of the buildings were huge. The city was sprawled out with a lot of shopping plazas and buildings. There were barely any trees because there were so many roads and buildings. Naruto really saw the differences between worlds. As Neme said, this world was much more technologically advanced than his world. Back home they respected and lived amongst the forest and land. Here, they destroyed the forest and forged the land into whatever they wished. It was sad almost.

"Come along, ducklings," called Neme as she briskly walked down the dock.

Neme left the Jeep parked a few blocks down in a parking lot. They've been walking for a good twenty minutes to the harbor. The group of pre-teens followed with their bags propped on their backs and the two girls with spirit animals floating behind them. Naruto continued to look at the lights of the marina as they reflected off the dark waters appearing as glowing serpents. There were all sorts of boats docked. Some had tall poles, as others were large fancy boats Rue called yachts.

Neme stopped and glanced around the area before she said, "Come on, and be quiet. Get on the boat, and don't say anything."

Jolene and Rue instantly nodded. Quietly the two girls and single boy loaded onto the medium sized boat. They sat down on the bench seats near the back of the boat as Neme released the ropes that kept the boat moored to the dock. She then went to the steering wheel and placed her hand upon the place where the key was supposed to go. There was a brief flash of black light and the boat's motor grumbled to life.

Rue frowned and said, "You're stealing the boat, ain't ya, Lady Neme?"

"I said to keep quiet," replied Neme. "And yes . . . I'm stealing the boat. Remember that smaller animals always steal from the larger animals."

Eah snorted, "That only applies to the laws of nature, Lady Neme. You are setting a bad example to the kits."

"Yeah, that doesn't mean you can steal the boat," mumbled Rue. In a fit of panic she looked around and whispered, "What if someone sees, or reports that the boat is missing? What if we get caught?! Momma will beat me, Lady Neme!"

"Like, take a chill pill, Calamity," said Jolene as she gently pulled her friend into an one armed hug. "Like, nothing bad is going to happen, chick, so just relax, okay."

"You'll one day learn that sometimes you must do things that go against your beliefs and moral, prentice." replied Neme. "It is the Occults way of life at times."

"So, why are we taking the chance of going out to see the sea witch when I could get a cheap concealment for the kid on the black market, Neme?" asked Cracker Jack as he floated just over Jolene's petite shoulder.

Neme steered the boat out of the marina as she said, "The runt needs a strong one. Even now with him calm and a casted concealment the fox's aura still spills out of him." she glanced back at Cracker Jack and said, "Forces are already in play to find him. He was safe back in the Cove, but I can't keep him locked up there forever. He needs a Master and needs to discover a way to return himself home."

"Be as that may, why risk bringing him out then? Why not have the sea witch come to you?" asked Cracker Jack as a cigar materialized into his paw.

"Pelagia doesn't make house calls. She is bound to the island as well." stated Neme. She glanced back at the pre-teens and said, "You three should get some shut eye. We'll make it there around dawn."

"It's that far out?" asked Rue.

"What do you expect when we are going to an isolated island that Mundanes don't even know exist?" asked Neme. "Go up to the bow, the front of the boat, there is plenty of room there for you all to sleep."

Naruto was first to push himself up and head toward the front of the boat, while the girls followed after. Eah and Cracker Jack stayed behind with Neme. As they laid out their sleeping bags, Naruto observed the area and already knew that they would all have to lay together in order to keep warm. It was cooler on the ocean; he could feel it in the air.

"We all have to lie together," said Naruto as he tried to look at the girls' eyes in the darkness.

With the moonlight it wasn't hard to see them. Oddly enough, Rue's irises slightly glowed in the dark and made her appear evil almost with the ghastly hue they emitted.

"Yeah, we like, already figured that," said Jolene. "It's no big deal. None of us hit puberty yet anyway, or have you, Naruto?"

"Huh?"

"You know, like puberty? Hair growing in weird places, strange urges, changes in your body?" replied Jolene in a snicker. "Neither me or Rue has hit it yet. We're both still like, hairless as babies."

"JOLENE!" squeaked Rue horrified. "I don't want him knowing what's goin' on with my body, and I really don't think he wants to know either! That's personal and indecent!"

"Quit freaking out," sighed Jolene. "We like, don't even have boobs. We're as flat chested as he is."

Naruto tilted his head and said, "No, Rue has boobs. You just can't tell they're there unless she's in her bodysuit, then you see them. They're like little cones."

Rue stared at him with her mouth open, but no words found their way out. Jolene busted out into laughter as Rue looked at her betrayed.

"What?" mumbled Naruto as Rue crossed her arms over her chest.

"You've been like, checking out Rue?" asked Jolene as she sat down on the pallet they made. "That's bold, Naruto."

He plopped down on the blankets and said, "No I was observing. It's important for a ninja to be observant of their surroundings and the people within it. I wasn't really checking you out Rue, I was more like studying you."

"Why," asked Rue as she sat down and kept her arms crossed.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's easier to do a transformation jutsu into someone when you know every detail about them. I used it all the time when I got chased by chunnin back home." Once again he made the hand seals, and in a poof, he henged into Rue. With her voice and accent he said, "It's important, because if ya miss one tiny thing or make a simple mistake, then you're caught and the ruse is up. In enemy territory, you're dead if ya make a mistake." Naruto released the jutsu and shrugged his shoulders. "I want to keep what skills I do have sharp where that way I don't get rusty or lazy."

Jolene blinked before she said, "That is so cool . . ." She looked to Rue. "We should like, be more dedicated like that." Jolene then sighed and stooped as she said, "But I'm way too lazy."

"Come on y'all, let's lay down and cover up. I'm getting a bit cold," mumbled Rue to then let out a yawn.

"Gees, whatever happened to you like, being a night owl, Rue. Please like, get in the middle, Naruto," replied Jolene. "If you don't, Rue will end up like, touching me in the middle of the night and stuff."

"Nah-uh!" spat Rue. "You're the one who likes to play boyfriend girlfriend so ya start rubbin' up on me first!"

"Maybe Naruto wants to play," inquired Jolene in a snicker as she wiggled her brows.

Naruto chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head while he said, "I don't even think I want to know what the hell you guys are talking about, dattebayo."

"Well," said Jolene. "Either Rue or I will be the boyfriend, and like, the other is the girlfriend, and we'll do boyfriend girlfriend things with–"

"JOLENE!" cried Rue as she suddenly lunged on the girl and slapped her hand over her mouth. "Quit runnin' your gator! You're twelve! You're supposed to be more mature than me!"

It was Naruto's turn to gap wordlessly at the two girls. He snapped out of it and asked, "Do all girls do this stuff?"

Instantly he thought of Sakura and Ino. Those two were best friends . . . did they play this boyfriend girlfriend game too?

Jolene cackled in laughter as she pushed Rue off her and then sighed. "No, not all girls do. Rue and me, we're . . . different. We're best friends and we like, experiment."

"Jolene," cried Rue mortified.

Rue was so embarrassed that she turned away from the both of them and whimpered. Out of pure embarrassement Rue started to cry. Naruto felt slightly bad for the girl, but Jolene was quick to respond.

"Awe, come on don't cry," said Jolene as she feathered her fingers along Rue's back. "Tickle, tickle, tickle!"

It took only a few seconds for Rue to stop crying and start laughing. Within moments Naruto then was being tickled, which was a weird experience for him. Especially when the girls showed him the best places to tickle another person. Rue's hips were the ticklish, as for Jolene it was behind her knees. As for Naruto himself . . . never had his feet been so sensitive and violated by two girls. It turned into an all out war to see who could tickle the other and make them pee their pants first. It never got that far, not when Neme got on to them.

After settling down, the trio ended up gazing at the stars. Thousands if not millions of stars littered the heavens as the moon hung lazily in the horizon.

Tiredly Rue mumbled, "It's so pretty out here . . . I can see so many stars." She reached out and said, "There is Vulpecula . . ." she glanced at Naruto and said, "Miss Eah knows a lot of the constellations, but I only remembered Vulpecula cause it's a fox, and Orion because that one is really easy to spot."

"I see the Big Dipper. . ." mumbled Naruto as he scowled his eyes in thought. He tilted his head and said, "Well, I think it's the Big Dipper. We're taught about the stars in the academy so we can travel at night. Our calendars are the same . . . even the constellations seem the same." He propped up on his elbows and looked to the two girls and said, "What do you think that means?"

It had to mean something. It had to be a clue . . . only Naruto didn't know how to solve this mystery.

"I don't know much about worlds or dimensions," replied Jolene as Naruto rested back on the pallet. "You'd have to like, ask someone who knows. I don't even think Neme or Cracker Jack may know, and those two have like, been around for a while."

Rue let out a long deep yawn and then muttered, "Miss Eah isn't even sure, but then again, she won't tell me things that I don't quite understand. It'll confuse me and make me worry." She glanced over to Naruto and said, "Maybe for now, you shouldn't worry about it too much, Naruto. I'll make ya sick with worry, and I wouldn't want ya getting all riled up about this and freaking out, know what I mean."

"Yeah, don't worry about it now." said Jolene. "Trying to understand concepts that we're like, not meant to understand yet only upsets our own mental balance." she looked over Rue to the blond-haired boy and said, "It can like, drive you insane, and I wouldn't want you to go insane. You're too cute for insanity."

Naruto chuckled lightly and then said, "Heh, thanks."

"I'm like, serious though, Naruto." stated Jolene. "You are cute. I can tell that like, when you get older, you're going to be excruciatingly hot." She smiled and said, "You're going to definitely be a chick magnet; an AILF."

"I don't know about that . . . You're really bold though, aren't you, Jolene?" he asked in a chuckle.

She softly giggled and said, "I'm just like, planning ahead. Maybe when we're older, we can date or something."

Naruto blinked as he mumbled, "Why are you that interested in me?"

She rolled over to her side to better see him as she said, "There's a girl, isn't there. Someone special back home?"

He now rolled to his side to look over Rue at Jolene as he said, "Sort of. I love her, but she thinks I'm a stupid idiot and dead-last looser."

"She sounds like a bitch," uttered Jolene.

"Sakura-chan's not a bitch . . . she's just stupidly infatuated with this dick-head named Sasuke. Everyone thinks he's so wonderful and awesome all because his clan was massacred and he's the last Uchiha and he can do jutsus so perfectly . . . He's a douche bag. He's doesn't give anyone the time of day, not even the stupid girls that follow him around and basically worship the ground he walks on. He's a spoil rotten brat who doesn't know what the hell he's taking for granted. If I were him . . . Everyone would be my friend, and I would never be alone."

Jolene grew empathetic as she said, "Rue told me you're an orphan . . . I just didn't realize like, how bad it must of been for you back home. Tell me, though, Naruto. Why do you want to go back to a place where it sounds like no one wants or appreciates you?"

"Because I love the village," said Naruto in all honesty. "It's my home, and when I joined the academy I knew I was destined to become a ninja. I was destined to protect the village, even if the village hates me. I was born to protect Konoha, and ever since I was little I felt that way. Yeah, I'm lonely and I want the villagers to acknowledge that I exist, but I knew that one day I would get that acknowledgment by becoming the best and strongest ninja ever . . . I was going to do everything in my power to become a Hokage, that way the village would have to recognize me and they would have to accept me and know that I exist and that I am a part of the village of that life as much as they are. That is a dream I'm not giving up on, and that is my ninja way. To never give up, dattebayo."

"Naruto . . ." mumbled Jolene. "You're awesome."

He laid there in silence for a moment before he said, "At least someone thinks I am."

"You are. Don't ever let anyone like, tell you any different." stated Jolene. She smiled softly and said, "I think we're going to be great friends . . . all three of us."

Rue softly snored, which caused Jolene to chuckle. Silence overcame them. The only sounds were the boat cutting through the waves and the soft salty breeze that swept over them. A shooting start shot over head, but before Naruto had a chance to even think his wish, Jolene spoke.

"I wish Rue had confidence like you . . . She's so like, timid and naive. Her future is doomed to be nothing but sorrow and loneliness though." She looked at Naruto and said, "Rue can really relate to you in that department. I'm like, her only friend besides Eah and Neme . . . When I first met Rue, I just moved from California to here and I like, wasn't into the move at all. When I started school, Rue was seven and basically invisible. Nobody in the room noticed her or even would accept that she was alive and sitting there. She was like a ghost. I started to talk with her, because I was curious. Cracker Jack told me that she wasn't like everyone else in the room . . . Rue was different. Back then though, I wasn't even studying to be a Necromancer . . . I was living what was left of my life before it was my time to die."

"What d'ya mean?" asked Naruto intrigued.

"I had an advanced form of leukemia back then. I stayed sick all the time, and the medications made me sick, weak, and even like, made my hair fall out. When I was five years old the first time I died."

"Died?"

Jolene nodded. "I remember it, I like don't know how or why I remember but I do. It was after that I started to see Cracker Jack. See, Jack isn't like Miss Eah. He's not a Totem, which is a protector, he's a Familiar, which is more like an aid. Cracker Jack chose me, cause he said there was something special about me . . . But, anyway my sickness mellowed out for a while, and my dad got stationed down in Florida when I was eight, so we like moved again. I got enrolled into school so I could be like a normal kid. That was when I like, met Rue and we became friends instantly. But then my cancer started like, getting worst. I relapsed when I was ten and Rue was with me when my body began to deteriorate.

"I got so sick I like, had to be hospitalized. Rue tried to visit me, but her mom's a true bitch and wouldn't let her like, come visit me. On the night that things got really bad, Cracker Jack got Rue and she like, snuck out to visit me . . . That was a bad night, 'cause I like, died. Again."

"I don't understand," mumbled Naruto.

Jolene stared right into Naruto's eyes and whispered, "I don't know what happened. I just remember Rue like, holding my hand the entire time." She sighed and cast her brown eyes onto Rue's sleeping face. "I don't know what she did . . . I just remember that there was like, a lot of pain . . . Cracker Jack told me that she basically forced my soul back into my body, and then like, healed me. He didn't get into details, but said that I owed Rue my life. He told me that Rue isn't an ordinary psychic like Neme and everyone else says, that she's something more. It was after that I asked Cracker Jack to like, teach me his Craft of Necromancy so that way I could aid Rue in anyway I could, because she's going to change things."

Naruto scowled and mumbled, "Change what things?"

Jolene shrugged and said, "I don't like, know exactly . . . I just know that she apart of something that is big, something that will change everything." The girl pressed her extended index finger to her lips and uttered, "Shhh . . . Don't let Neme know I told you anything. Neme has Rue believing otherwise, for like, unknown reasons."

"Damn, and I thought my life was complicated," mumbled Naruto as he rested his head back on the pallet and looked up into the stars.

"Complicated like, wouldn't be the word," said Jolene. "It's just life. We have to deal with what life throws at us, and it's up to us to either endure and overcome or let it destroy us."

"You're pretty smart, Jolene," said Naruto. He cut his eyes to her's. "And you're physically pretty too."

She smiled and said, "Awe, you gave me two compliments. That's so sweet." She giggled and said, "Hey, Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"If me flirting with you like, agitates you in anyway, just let me know okay." said Jolene seriously. "I'll stop if you like, want me to."

"I don't think I'm going to mind," replied Naruto. He chuckled and admitted, "I kind of like the attention." He yawned, and then said, "Just as long as we don't take it too far . . . unless, I don't know, we both want it to go that far later on."

"Thinking ahead are you?"

"Yeah . . . I think I am for once."

Silence overcame the two. It wasn't long before Jolene fell asleep curled up next to Rue. Naruto continued to look at the stars above him, until finally his eyelids drifted closed and he too went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good. (revised 7/8/13)

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**Chapter Four:** Pelagia the Sea Witch

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It was near dawn when Naruto awoke. Both Rue and Jolene were still sound asleep when he sat up and let out a yawn. He stretched and then glanced around him. A dark ocean nearly surrounded them, and the sky held a violet tone within the eastern horizon. The sun had yet to break surface. Water sloshed against the boat that no longer moved, but now floated moored to a rather primitive dock. Beyond the dock was a rock and sand lined shore that vanished into a dark forest.

"Hey," Naruto shook Rue and then leaned over her to shake Jolene. "We're docked."

Jolene rolled over and raised her rump into the air as she mumbled, "Five more minutes."

"We're here?" questioned Rue as she rose from the pallet almost as a zombie. She blinked as she swayed. "Where's here again?"

"Some island," said Naruto as he pushed up to his feet. He stumbled toward the center of the boat, and saw that neither Neme nor the strange animals were there. He looked back to Rue and said, "I think they're already on the island."

"Jo, get up," said Rue as she forcefully shoved the girl's rump causing Jolene to fall to her side.

"Do you like, have to be so rough?" griped Jolene as she rose to her knees and sleepily glared at Rue. "Don't make me like, curse you."

"I ain't scared." snapped Rue as she pushed up to her feet. She grasped Jolene's arm and forced the girl up as she said, "Ya wouldn't curse me no way. Now, c'moan. Get up, we got to go."

"Not until I brush my hair." stated Jolene.

Rue scowled at the girl and said, "But ya ain't got that much hair to begin with!"

Naruto went toward the dock as he said, "I'm going ahead."

Before either girl could reject, Naruto leapt off the boat and onto the dock. Bamboo style torches lined the edges of the dock. The dock itself made of wood tied with what appeared to be vines instead of held together with bolts, screws or nails. The torches continued to line the edges of a wooden trail that lead right into the island's thickly grown forest. With the cast no longer holding him back, Naruto broke off into a jog as he followed the lit path. As he reached the forest, he instantly noticed the different flora from what he saw back on the mainland plus, most of the area was flooded. The walkway was a long dock that trailed deeper into the overgrown forest.

Mangroves made up most of the foliage. Many of the mangroves with their twisting branches and finger-like roots that probed for salt water were fairly huge. Some of the mangroves were as large as oak trees with thick branches and their roots the size of a man's arm. Cedar trees were mingled here and there, along with tall sand pines and cypress trees.

With the trees much larger than those at the Secret Cove, a grin formed on Naruto's face as he leapt onto the nearest mangrove branch. It gently shook as he leapt to another. This place was so overgrown and thick. The canopy was almost like a maze as Naruto trailed through it.

"What are ya doin' way up there, Naruto?"

He glanced down to see both girls staring up at him. "Observing," He hopped to another branch with ease and then looked back at the girls. "I'll race you two to the end of the trail!"

Rue's brows scrunched in confusion as she said, "From up there?"

"Yeah," said Naruto as he swung from one branch to land on another closer to the ground near the girls. "This is how ninja travel. Through the trees."

"Really?" asked Jolene unbelieving as she crossed her arms.

Naruto grinned and said, "Just watch."

Within an instant, he was gone. Like a frog he leapt from the branch to another, to then casually leap to others and run along the longer branches. The girls tried to keep up with him from below, but as Naruto moved and rose higher up into the canopy, they lost track of him. He was gone.

The golden-haired boy focused on his run. It felt that he hadn't run in years. He leapt and hopped through the branches and finally had to slow down as he neared the tops of the trees. Once he broke the leafy surface, Naruto paused on a branch of what appeared to be the tallest pine to overlook the island from this position. The mangrove forest was as a sea of green with only a small area clear of trees somewhere within the center, with nothing but a dark blue ocean surrounding the entire oblong shaped island. The place was completely isolated.

Neme said that the island was hidden from Mundanes, which Naruto could in a way understand that considering he was born and raised within a Hidden Village. People couldn't find Konoha if the Hokage didn't want them to.

A flock of birds abruptly rattled the leaves of a nearby tree as the white creatures took off into the sky. The sun peaked over the horizon and cast a golden glow over the now sparkling sea. He could hear chirps and squawks from birds, along with hoots of some other types of creatures that lurked within the forest. Naruto stood there in silence and leaned back against the pine's trunk. He wanted to be back home so bad. This place was so foreign and nothing like he knew. There were still so many things that Naruto didn't understand, but acted like he did so Neme and Rue would quit explaining everything to him over and over again.

It made him realize how dense and how simple minded he was. How could he not understand the things that seemed so understandable to everyone else around him? It was easier to pretend that he understood so they wouldn't see how dumb he was.

Like the ocean around him, Naruto went with the flow. He didn't understand the difference between Mundanes and Occultist. Yeah, he grasped the concept that one set of humans could use magik and the other could not. It was how they separated themselves from each other seemed racist and stupid to him. Back in his world they were all human whether they could perform jutsu or not. Naruto had to keep reminding himself though that there might have not just been only humans who could use magik in this world though, because Neme did say something about humanoids and beast . . . and Neme herself was a ghoul. Then there was the secret society thing, which in a way Naruto understood that because of how the Hidden Villages worked.

He pushed off the tree and sighed. Thinking about all this stuff just gave him a headache. For a while he stood there in silence. He kept wishing to be home, but wishes never came true. Only through action and perseverance could something be done. Like Jolene told him last night, this is life. It was up to him to handle what life threw at him, and either he was going to get through it or let it break him. With one last look at the sun, Naruto then slipped back into the shadows of the canopy and traveled toward the center of the island. He moved closer to the ground and followed the bamboo torches. They lead him to a crescent shaped lagoon. Tall reeds of grass lined a part of the shore with thickets of bamboo and cypress trees beyond, as water was everywhere. The whole island was more like an estuary than an actual island. Mingled within the foliage were smaller huts, while there was a fairly large hut centered of the beach on the opposite shore.

Naruto neared the area and then jumped down onto the end of the path. A rope bridge stretched over the clear blue waters of the lagoon. There wasn't a soul in sight within the settlement. As Naruto crossed the bridge, he braced his arms on the rough ropes on either side of him and quickly made his way across. With each step, the bridge rocked until he reached solid ground.

The area itself seemed vacant. The large hut was built partially over the lagoon's waters with wooden walkways throughout the area. Naruto walked closer and noticed that there was firelight within the hut. That was where he went to as he cautiously overlooked the area. His steps were silent along the bamboo walkways. He became like a shadow as he used his skills to approach the building like a proper ninja should. He could hear voices within, and Naruto could also smell food. Just the smell of food caused his stomach to cramp and growl at him. It was loud enough to make those within the hut become silent.

Naruto frowned at himself and grumbled, "Damn it."

A shell curtain opened and Neme's face peered out from it. She raised one of her brows at the boy and said, "Did you have fun exploring?"

"I didn't really explore." said Naruto as he approached. "I was clearing my head . . . or at least trying to."

"Ahh," she mumbled. She opened the curtain for the boy to enter as she said, "There's food if you're hungry, runt."

A small smile formed on his face as he said, "I'm starving. Is it ramen?"

"What is it with you and ramen?" asked Neme. "No, there isn't any ramen. Pelagia doesn't obtain any type of rations from the mainland. She and her people live completely off the island and ocean around."

"Oh," said Naruto dejected.

Inside the hut everything was simple and decorated from things found upon the island or within the sea. The entire hut was made of bamboo fitted and then held together with vine. Small tables were too made in the same fashion with the tables edges decorated with shells. Upon one of the longer tables that followed the wall further into the open room there was a series of skulls with tallow candles burning upon them. Naruto wasn't sure if they were human or not. Another table held an assortment of bottles of various shape and size. Fish bones with dried herbs hung from the ceiling rafters along with dried out sea creatures.

There wasn't one chair though, no couch, not one place or thing for anyone to sit on throughout the entire hut made of wood. There wasn't even a dining table. Instead, the girls and Neme were seated on tatami mats placed on the floor around the sandy hearth. A small fire continued to lick the belly of a hanging cauldron, while on a tray off to the side rested an assortment of food. It all looked organic as fresh fish, various seaweeds, herbs, vegetables and fruits, a pot of rice, and then the simmering stew that continued to cook within cauldron over the flames of the hearth.

"Come eat, Naruto." chirped Rue as she held up a slice of mango.

He glanced around and asked, "Where's the animals?"

"Eah is hunting, while Cracker Jack like, left to go find out some things." said Jolene before she shoved a slice of pineapple into her mouth.

Cautiously Naruto took the closest tatami mat and sat down. Both Rue and Jolene continued to eat on the fruit and ignored the fish and stew. Neme on the other hand, ate nothing. She only continued to drink something from a black cup. Naruto had a feeling that the contents of the cup was blood. It momentarily made his stomach turn, but he quickly shook it off. The stew smelt really good to Naruto, and with the rice he thought of _danburi_. A large heaping bowl of rice with stew sounded good to him.

He picked up one of the large wooden bowls and dropped a spoonful of rice into it. He stirred the stew and then scooped a large portion of the orange looking content over the rice. He overlooked the creamy stew and smelt it. There was shrimp and chunks of fish. There was also what appeared to be squid. Naruto glanced around for the strange fork-thing the people of this world used, and smiled when he saw wooden chopsticks instead.

"Let's eat!" he chimed with a slap of his hands and small bow of his head. He then dug into the bowl and began to eat with fervor. The meal didn't taste half bad. It was a bit spicy, but there was also something sweet about it.

"Nice to see yes, someone eat Pelagia's Brazilian fish stew."

Naruto, to both Jolene and Rue's disgust, paused with a small squid tentacle dangling from his lips when he looked up to the new voice. The boy completely froze when he looked upon the creature that entered the hut.

Its chocolate brown skin glistened from being wet, it's eyes a soft violet purple, while it's hair was pure white with age. The upper portion of the creature appeared to be an old human woman, while from her hips down was nowhere near human. Instead of legs, this woman had eight powerful looking tentacles a deep violet in color with teal shading.

"Ahh, Uzumaki Naruto has never saw such a thing as Pelagia, no," replied the aged nymph.

Slowly Naruto shook his head no. Quickly he slurped the tentacle up into his mouth and rested his bowl on the floor. He watched as the thing gracefully moved and slithered upon those tentacles as if they were legs to the cauldron. With a smile on her face the creature too made herself a bowl of the rice and stew.

"No worries of what we eat, yes." said the nymph. "No offense Pelagia feels if you eat those with legs as mine." She too used a set of chopsticks and ate. "Pelagia eat them all the time, yes."

"What are you?" asked Naruto rather rudely.

The tentacle-legged crone smiled at him and said, "Pelagia am legendary cecaelia nymph, Uzumaki Naruto. I be like the mermaids with their tails like fish, but cecaelia wiser and more recluse with their legs as octopus."

"O-Okay," uttered Naruto unsure. This confirmed it for him. This world was also made up of creatures that weren't human at all.

A tentacle curled around his bowl and lifted it back into his hands as the nymph said, "Eat, Uzumaki Naruto, for Pelagia, have much planned for you, yes."

"You're Pelagia?" asked Naruto.

The crone nymph nodded curtly and said, "Pelagia I be, yes."

He resumed eating in silence as he listened to the sounds around him. Neither Jolene nor Rue seemed freaked out about Pelagia as Naruto felt on the inside. Then again, those two were used to this weird world while Naruto was still trying to figure it out. He slowly ate, being that his appetite was gone. Naruto continued to eat, so everyone wouldn't realize how paranoid he actually felt.

Once they finished their meals and thanked Pelagia for the food, things came down to business. Naruto watched as she sea witch used her long appendages to gather things from tables around them as she mumbled to herself in a language he couldn't understand. When it appeared she gathered what she wanted, Pelagia looked to Naruto with her violet eyes serious.

Her tentacle curled around his wrist and jerked him up into the air. "HEY!" yelped Naruto as the nymph twisted another tentacle around his leg, and then let the other go. In a shout he jerked upside down.

"What's your deal, lady-thing!" blurted Naruto as she ignored him.

Pelagia squint her eyes as she stared at him, pinched his cheeks with her hands, and then poked and prodded him all over his form. She turned him this way and that, right-side up, and then upside down again.

"Concealment for Uzumaki Naruto will not be easy to construct, no." said Pelagia as she looked away from Naruto and let him drop back to the floor.

The boy omphed when he landed on the tatami mat on all fours like a cat. He quickly turned and pointed at her as he shouted, "Hey, be gentle with the merchandise, lady!"

Neme yanked him to the floor and dully said, "Control your temper, runt."

He crossed his arms and grumbled, "She started it."

Pelagia giggled as she pulled a scroll before them and spread it out to reveal a map as she said, "To do what needs done, yes, boy will have to gather things needed from sea. Only he can gather, only he can touch, yes."

"Can we help him?" asked Jolene excited.

Pelagia nodded once and said, "Aid he may have and will need, yes. But do not touch the items needed, for only he may take possession of them, yes." With another tentacle she retrieved three small bottles from another table. "Within the sea, Uzumaki Naruto, you will find all that you need," the nymph stared at him with her purple eyes and waved her hand before his face as she said, "Only to you will they stand out, yes. While the others cannot see, only your eyes will."

That static feeling overcame him and made his skin tingle. As Naruto felt the tingling dissipate he wondered if Pelagia just cast a spell on him.

"Uzumaki Naruto's quest begins at the reef," with one of her tentacles she pointed to an area on the map south of the island. "Beware, yes, for this reef is called Molla's Reef, for he protects the reef, yes. Dangerous, Uzumaki Naruto, your quest will be. For one of Molla's fangs you need."

"What is a Molla?" asked Naruto with his expression serious.

"Molla be, a giant eel, yes. Very dangerous Molla be, and Uzumaki Naruto, take heed, you must not kill Molla, for he protects this sea. Disrupt the balance you will, if you kill Molla of the Reef." said Pelagia. "Uzumaki Naruto, be sure, you will find a way to obtain a fang of Molla, without harming this beast, yes."

Naruto scowled his eyes in thought and said, "How if I can't kill it? This sounds impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," stated Neme.

Pelagia giggled and said, "No worry, Uzumaki Naruto, is unpredictable, yes. With the help of friends, there are no bounds. He will find a way, yes."

Naruto believed that this wrinkled and old looking nymph was crazy.

"Away from the reef he must go, once Uzumaki Naruto obtains Molla's fang, to another place where nothing goes. Within a chasm, deep down, an abyss where no one knows, yes, he will find the next item he needs." She slid her tentacle along the map and it curled over another area on the opposite side of the island a good distance out. "It is here Uzumaki Naruto will find, the Pearls of Gold. Three he needs, and three he will must find, just answer the riddle and all will be fine."

"I have no idea what you're saying!? Why do you go from riddles to something like normal talk?" asked Naruto as he rubbed his face in confusion. "I have to find three pearls now?"

Pelagia nodded happily and said, "Fang of Molla first, and Golden Pearls, yes. Only you may touch, remember. Once the pearls are retrieved, only one last thing Uzumaki Naruto needs . . ." She once more moved her tentacle to an area now west of the island. "Within this region it only grows. Nine Nereid's Tears you must collect, to finish your quest and begin the next."

Naruto frowned at the sea witch. "They only grow . . . is this Nereid's Tears some type of plant?"

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. Flowers boom only once a year, beneath the light of a full moon. Be sure you gather only blooms, for the full moon comes soon, yes. Within one more night." replied Pelagia.

"So not tonight, but tomorrow night," asked Rue. "Naruto has until the full moon tomorrow night to complete the quest?"

"Yes, yes. Rue Hargrave is right."

"How am I supposed to do this?" asked Naruto riled. "I have to go underwater right, I can't breathe underwater."

A soft smile lined Pelagia's lips and she said, "For that you mustn't worry, no, for Pelagia have what you need to complete quest, yes." Pelagia set the three bottles down before them as she said, "Potions you must drink, yes. One for each. They will aid you, for one and half days' time. Once this time has passed, the effect will vanish. Be near the surface, yes . . . or drown you will."

"Thirty-six hours then." Jolene picked up one of the bottles and asked, "What effect does the potion have?"

"Magik," replied Pelagia. "Cecaelia magik. Make friends breathe water."

"They can head out tonight," said Neme. "Thirty-six hours gives them plenty of time to obtain the fang and pearl, before the full moon tomorrow night. That should also give them a window of time to return before the potion's effect wears off."

Pelagia shrugged her shoulders. "It may be best, yes. For Nereid's Tears can only be picked during full moon tomorrow night." She pulled a crude leather satchel with a woven strap out from a table drawer. She held the medium sized rectangular bag out to Naruto as she said, "Made of leviathans skin, yes, this satchel is. Uzumaki Naruto, take. Place items into, to keep them safe."

He accepted the bag and said, "So, I have to get a Fang of Molla, three Pearls of Gold, and nine Nereid's Tears flowers?"

Pelagia nodded and said, "Yes, Uzumaki Naruto."

He nodded and clenched the strap of the satchel. "What do I have to do after I gather these things?"

"Only if you retrieve them, we can proceed, yes. Until then, worry only of what you need." replied Pelagia as she smiled.

Neme retrieved the potions and then rose from her seat and said, "Let's go, ducklings. Let's gather some things you'll need to fend for yourselves in the ocean."

"Yes," replied Pelagia as she removed the cauldron from the hearth, added more wood to the fire, and then dropped some type of powder into the flames to make them flare with violet plume. "Much to do, and many dangers within the sea, so take heed and make haste. Only little time, so no time to waste."

Naruto draped the strap of the satchel over his head and then bunted the bag to his back, to then push up from the mat as he grumbled, "What did I get into . . ."

"Think of this as a ninja mission," replied Neme.

As the group of preteens followed the Harionago, Naruto grumbled, "I'm not officially a ninja."

Neme stopped, which caused Naruto to walk into her. He stumbled and cut his eyes up at the woman as she bore her black eyes into his blue ones and said, "Why, because your people did not accept you and put it in writing? Stop downing yourself, runt. From what little I saw I believe that you are a ninja, and one day when you return home, you can show your people that you are a shinobi, and that you do not need their approval to be one." She watched him before she walked ahead and said, "Let's go. There is a lot to cover and prepare for before you three head out."

The wood of the walkways lightly clinked and clattered as they walked upon them. All of the chains Neme wore tinged and clanked. The preteens followed the woman along the docks to another hut, and entered. This hut was built the same, only it was smaller and filled with their things. As the sea witch's hut, there was nothing to sit upon in here either. All of the people of this village must've been like Pelagia. Naruto figured that was why the island was practically nothing but water. The people didn't really live on shore, but rather lived within the water and came to shore when needed.

Neme began to rummage through a long duffel bag as she said, "Acolyte, did you bring any weapons with you?"

"All I have is my dagger," replied Jolene. "I don't really have any other weapons, Neme."

"Your kris should suffice," replied Neme as she withdrew a long staff from the bag. The staff's wood had a marble finish, with the head an entanglement of wood that encased a rock crystal orb. The small bells on the staff jingled, as the dangling strings with feathers fluttered. Neme passed it back to Rue and said, "Apprentice, take your staff. It may prove useful."

Rue nodded as she accepted the staff that was a good foot or two taller than she. "Yes, ma'am."

She then slipped out a sheathed weapon and held it out to Naruto as she said, "Throwing projectiles won't work in the water, take this instead."

He blinked and looked at Neme and said, "Is that a sword or something?"

"It's a ninjato," replied Neme. "It's a short sword, one that you should be able to use if needed in the water."

"I don't know how to use a sword," mumbled Naruto as he stared at the orange cased weapon. "I've taught myself to use kunai and shuriken."

Neme tossed the sword to him and said, "I guess you'll learn then, won't you, runt. Think of it as a gift. I bought it with you in mind with that orange sheath and handle, runt."

He caught the weapon and then stared at Neme as he uttered, "You got this for me?" Gently Naruto slid the sword out from the sheath to see the shiny blade as tears welled in his eyes. With his bottom lip twitching, he mumbled, "Thank's."

Neme sneered. "Please don't tell me you're going to give me a hug or something, 'cause I do not do hugs. You're such a sentimental, runt."

Instantly the boy snorted as he snapped, "Can't you call me something else besides RUNT?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "If you wish, knucklehead."

"Awe, come on, you call Rue apprentice and Jolene acolyte!? Why am I stuck with the degrading names?"

A smile formed on Neme's face as she said, "Because, I like you, knucklehead. You amuse me."

Naruto glared at her impassively as he uttered, "So, it's knucklehead now?"

"For now, yeah."

"Go to hell, Neme."

"Been there done that. It's not as bad as everyone thinks."

"I was being sarcastic damn it!"

"Pft, I wasn't."

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The day had been filled with small training exorcizes that Neme overlooked. She showed Naruto the basics of the ninjato, and corrected his form when needed. The demon-woman was patient with him, and actually stood by him, watched, and helped him when he needed it. It was really weird to Naruto to actually have someone pay attention to him, and teach him something right.

As they trained, Naruto time to time would watch the other two girls. Jolene was fairly decent with her kris. With her willowy form she was very agile and flexible; performing stances and executing moves that she made look simple. He could tell that she practiced with the kris often, and that weapon itself was an extension of her. As for Rue, she treated her staff almost like a bo. She could spin the thing around and move it in ways that didn't seem possible due to the differences in Rue's size and the weapon. There were some strange moves she'd do with the staff though . . . Moves that seemed like swiping motions, moves used with a bladed weapon and not that of a staff. Rue's stances and moves were much more acrobatic than Jolene's though. The youngest of the group could move and flex in ways that made Naruto cringe.

They didn't just practice with these weapons though. Neme also equipped them with things called, spear guns. When this lesson was taught, they all got to go swimming in the lagoon. Neme showed them how to load the weapon, shoot it and even aim the thing if needed. Neme said they were only to be used in an absolute emergency, for if they could help it, they were to harm none; unless, it was to obtain something to eat or in self-defense. After the lesson was over, Neme let them swim around and basically take a break. It was actually fun to play around in the water with others. The day burnt away with each giggle, splash, and round of tag they played. The kids didn't even stop to eat.

As the afternoon blended into evening, Neme sat them down in order to rest after she made them eat dinner. She prepared instant ramen to Naruto's delight. After Neme actually managed to set them down, she explained that she wanted them to obtain full night's sleep through a couple hours of meditation. Never in Naruto's life had he meditated . . . and meditation required him to be still. That was another thing that Naruto never done in his life, and that was keep still while awake.

"Stop moving, knucklehead." replied Neme as she watched him.

He stopped shaking his leg and let out a sigh as he let his shoulders stoop. Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at Rue and Jolene. Both of them were deep in meditation, and appeared so calm and as if they were asleep. They both were completely lost within a rejuvenating trance.

"I can't do this," mumbled Naruto. He shook his head and said, "This is hard!"

Neme snuffed out her cigarette and then went to him. She kneeled down before him and said, "It's because you have a lot of energy, and it's hard for you to control it. You need to learn patience. Eventually, you'll have to learn to master this, knucklehead. For now, I'll help you, because you are going to need to rest and meditation will help you accomplish this. I'll help you meditate, by doing a guided meditation."

He looked her in the eyes and said, "What's that?"

"Guided meditation is when an outside force places you into a state of meditation." Neme reached her hands to his, and said, "Take my hands, relax, and close your eyes." Naruto done as told. "Now, I want you to listen to the sounds around you . . . hear the wind blow, listen to the waves crest onto shore . . . Take it all in. Do not think, clear your mind. Feel the sand beneath you and accept the vibrations they give. Absorb the sunlight and the warmth it provides . . . Connect with the aspects of nature around you, feel their energy, and let it penetrate you, help you, relax you."

It sounded like crazy talk to him. Connecting with energy around him? He let out a snort of air.

"Stop your thoughts, knucklehead, and clear your mind. Keep it a blank state, and listen to the world around you." whispered Neme.

For what seemed like ages to Naruto, he sat there in silence with nothing but darkness to accompany him within his mind. He listened to the leaves rustle within the trees when the wind blew. The branches of the mangroves softly clanked together and creaked. Bird song could be heard within the distance, as the cresting waves on the beach were rhythmic and calming. The sand and sunlight was warm. Naruto could feel the rays of the sun soak him in wonderful light. Then he started to hear the small fiddler crabs scurrying upon the rocks near the shore. Tiny flutters of wings from the gnats all around them. That wasn't all though. The more Naruto heard, the more a sensation began to make itself known to him. It was like a small vibration, and eventually he noticed that a lot of things gave off this strange vibration. The pulses were all around him.

It started from the ground. It was like a heartbeat that his own tried to regulate with. Then vibrations came from the trees, from the ocean, even from the wind. Oddly, he could sense Neme in a completely new way. He didn't know how he knew it was her, but he could sense that it was. Then, he could sense Rue, and Jolene . . . and so many other things that he knew were birds, reptiles, and crabs. Fish nearby within the sea, the flames upon the torches, Pelagia, and then the other nymphs who were deep within the waters of the island Naruto too sensed.

As Naruto lost himself to meditation, Neme too was in a type of meditation. She scrunched her brows as she pushed her own force out and into Naruto from their physical connection of hands. She was very curious about the being that resided in the young boy, and wanted to speak with it.

It wasn't easy to breach the boy's energy, for the fox was aggressive and not to fond of the idea of another energy invading its territory. Each time Neme tried to pry in, the nine-tails drove her out.

"_Listen_," she thought after another failed attempt to force her energy into the boy. "_I merely wish to speak with you, spirit fox._"

There was nothing but complete silence, before a raspy voice replied, "**Why**?"

Neme scrunched her brows together and thought, "_As I said, I wish to speak with you, but I prefer to do this face to face. I have questions that need answers, as I am sure you do as well._"

"**Ku-ku-ku**, **what makes you think that I have questions, ghoul**? **I can care less to what happened to the brat upon arriving within this realm. I'm sore though, being that I lost my opportunity to break free.**" Neme could feel the thing smile through the connection of energy as it once again chuckled. "**I believe, I could become accustom to this world, and maybe even one day, destroy it.**"

"_You're a hate filled thing, aren't you?_" questioned Neme.

The nine-tailed fox laughed and said, "**Hate is not the word . . . I loathe all of humanity, for they have always betrayed me. They wish to dominate my power and control me as some tool . . . I will not be humiliated no more.**"

"_The people of this world are innocent,_" replied Neme.

"**Are they?**" questioned the nine-tails. "**Not from what you told the brat . . . Humans of this world are just as beguile and evil as the ones of my world. They seek power to destroy . . . my power, for that is what I was unintentionally created for. Though my Master did not wish this fate upon me or my brethren, it is what it is. I am destruction and I am hate because of humanity. Release me as you intend to one day do, and watch your world fall.**"

"_If you keep up this attitude, you'll never get out of here, fox. Besides, do you really believe that the nine-tailed fox of this world will allow you to destroy it?_"

There was nothing but a horrible loud laughing roar in response. Energy rippled and pushed Neme back and broke the connection. She let her hands slip from Naruto's as the boy was completely lost within a meditative trance. As she sat there feeling aged Neme let out a sigh. She watched the boy for the longest and took in his features. Gently she brushed his golden bangs from his face, for them to just fall right back over his forehead.

"I don't know what else to do if I can't find someone to mentor you, Naruto. Times are dangerous. We have to keep you hidden from Order, otherwise they'll take you away and just kill you. I hope Cracker Jack can find someone, but so far no one can be trusted." mumbled Neme. "I'm worried . . ."

"Lady Neme." the black clad woman turned to see Eah. The vixen materialized and continued to walk toward the woman as she said, "If Cracker Jack is not successful I have a suggestion."

"What's that?" asked Neme.

"Seeking out his parents." replied Eah. "He is an orphan, his parents died. Perhaps, we could find them, and bring their spirits here to mentor him."

Neme blinked at the two-tailed fox and said, "Can that even work? He's from another world."

A large vulpine smile appeared upon Eah's face as she said, "There is much you do not know, Lady Neme, for the Spirit World is not a small region, but a Universe of its own. It is connected to all worlds, all galaxies, and all planes of existence . . . Even if he is from a parallel universe I can find those of his lineage and find them in the Spirit World. His energy will be linked to their own, and I should be able to search them out through Tapers and find them. Depending where they are within the Spirit World depends on how long the quest may take."

"Are you really willing to do this for him?" asked Neme.

"Nemesis, the boy is my kits friend . . . If nothing can be done Mistress will take it upon herself to do as I am requesting to do now. I cannot allow her to travel within the Spirit World, not with the bounty upon her head. With the majority of Occultist in league with Order, I do not believe Cracker Jack will be able to find a proper mentor, unless he goes directly to the Resistance . . . and we do not need to be involved with an Outlaw Guild."

"I know," replied Neme. "I'll summon Cracker Jack . . . and after the kids leave out on their quest, we'll go over this more."

Eah nodded in agreement and said, "As you wish, Lady Neme."

After two hours, Naruto fell out of his trance. It felt almost like crashing back down to earth after floating in the air for a long time. The meditation worked though. Naruto felt refreshed and ready to go. The sun had set, and the sky steadily darkened. Stars began to shine here and there within the darkening sky. An almost full moon hovered in the eastern horizon.

"Are you all ready?" asked Neme.

They gathered at a dock near the lagoon. Just past the dock was the inlet that led out into the deep ocean. Rue and Jolene were geared up for the adventure. Both girls carried a small satchel with basic supplies and rations. Jolene now donned a belted holster for her kris, as Rue used a strap to secure her staff to her back. Neme provided Naruto with a strap so he could keep the sword easily accessible at his side. All three of them also carried their spear guns.

"Yes," replied the three in unison with Rue adding, "ma'am."

"Now remember," said Neme. "Only knucklehead can actually gather the items he needs. Prentice and acolyte are only going for defensive purposes. They are there to guard you while you collect your items, or help you against whatever creatures you may encounter out there. Try not to kill any: remember, harm none." She held out the potions, and each took one. "You have two days . . . That's more than enough time to complete the task and return back here. Do you have the map, acolyte?"

"Yes, Lady Neme." said Jolene as she pat her bag.

"Knucklehead, your satchel?"

"Duh." he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Apprentice, your staff?"

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Rue with a genuine smile on her face.

Neme smiled at the small team . . . or rather a motley crew. Could a ninja, necromancer, and a priestess make something of a decent team? They would all soon find out.

"Before you drink the potion, you might want to remove your clothes," said Neme. "They will become ruined."

Instantly Rue pouted, "Do we have to?"

"You did wear the bathing suit top I provided, didn't you." asked Neme.

"Yes ma'am," mumbled Rue as she pulled off her sundress. "I just hate it when a ritual or spell requires ya to be naked though. It's exposing."

"It's like, just flesh," replied Jolene as she pulled off her pair of shorts, and then slipped off her panty. "Besides, it's natural. Pelagia didn't have anything covering her tits."

"Her hair hid them," replied Rue as she too now slipped off her panty. "And nobody could see her cookie, cause of her legs."

Neme curtly laughed at Rue's word for the female private part. "It a vagina, apprentice."

"Oh, don't go outright and say it, Lady Neme!" whined the girl as she slid her satchel before her private area.

Both girls now only donned their satchels and weapons, along with halter style bikini tops. Naruto quickly turned away with his cheeks flushed. He got a full flash of both girls rumps, which, Rue's was slightly more bubbled than Jolene's. Quickly Naruto chastised himself for being a pervert, but then again they did undress right in front of him.

"Geesh, you're so modist, Rue." sighed Jolene. She glanced over at Naruto, who respectfully turned away and yet to remove his clothes. "What are you like, waiting for Naruto? Take off your clothes."

"Why?" he demanded.

"Come on, Naruto. It's not like we haven't all see a girl or boy naked before," replied Jolene. She smiled wickedly and said, "You show me yours, and like, I'll show you mine."

"Why will our clothes get messed up?" asked Naruto stubbornly to Neme.

"You know what, don't worry about it, knucklehead," replied Neme as she pulled out her cigarettes and pulled one from the pack. "Go ahead and drink the potion, you need to head out. You're all wasting time."

Naruto glared at the blacked haired woman, and quickly bit off the seal of the bottle. The faster he got this quest over with, the better. He chugged the thick contents down, only to gag when he tasted the last chunky bit. He made an awful face as he looked down at the bottle, now lined with a deep red liquid.

"Was there blood in this?" he asked, only to double over when his stomach cramped.

Neme shrugged. "I haven't a clue. I didn't make the potion, but I'm sure when it comes to a temporary animorph, it does have a portion of the animal's heart, brain and blood in the brew. How else are you to change into something that can breathe under water? Oh, and I should warn you . . . the shifting part sort of hurts."

Naruto dropped to his knees as sweat seemed to pour from him. He so wanted to tell Neme off, but at the moment he was in too much pain. His insides were tearing apart it felt like. His heart raced as he could feel his own body bubble and stretch. It started with his nose as it slightly grew pointed and shifted up. His teeth extended, as others cut through his gums. It felt as something were slicing cuts into the side of his neck, as his fingers cramped and stretched with long thick claws. Webbing formed between his fingers as his back now stretched too.

He fell to the dock in a groan when his knees no longer could support his weight. Neme was at his side, but not to help. Instead she used a knife to cut away his shirt, shorts, and boxers. Naruto tried to stop her, but he couldn't. Instead he watched in horror as his feet lost their toes, and his skin greyed. Long triangular shapes extended from where his feet used to be, as the skin of his legs began to stick together. He tried to separate them, only this seemed to make it worst. His torso cramped, and then his hips twisted as he let out a strained scream as more of his form shifted. Within moments he no longer had legs, but a thick powerful tail. As he lay on the dock, the pain ebbed away, but panic quickly overtook Naruto when he realized, he couldn't breathe.

He gasped in air, but it wasn't doing anything at all. It was almost like he didn't even have lungs anymore! Anxiously, he tried to push up to his feet, only Naruto didn't have feet anymore. He tried to call out, only he no longer had a voice. He managed to flip over and see that Jolene and Rue were nowhere in sight.

Paranoia rushed throughout him as he wondered if they had even drank the potion. Maybe they left and all this time just pretended they were going to help him! Maybe all this time had been nothing but a huge feint to bring him to this place and trick him! Then again, maybe he was just overreacting because he was currently scared shitless.

Neme slowly walked toward him, to then stand over him with her hands in her pockets. "Think of this as a lesson, Naruto. The next time I tell you to do something, do not hesitate or question me. Do it." With that said, she pushed the boy with her foot into the lagoon's water.

For a moment Naruto just floated within the depths, unable to breathe. He hit the sandy bottom as he watched bubbles bob their way up to the surface. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him within the water.

_You have to move, _Jolene's voice entered into his mind. _Move your legs side to side. Get water flowing through your gills so you can catch your breath. It looks like you got mako features, and makos have to swim to breathe. Open your mouth and let the water move over your gills._

He let his mouth gap open and water rushed in. Instantly he closed his mouth as the water hit his throat, and the sides of his neck fluttered. It seemed almost instinctual to open his mouth, take in water, and then close his mouth and let the water slip its way out his newly grown gills. The more the water flowed through him and out through the five slits of his throat, the better he felt.

As Jolene helped pull him along, he stared at her. She no longer looked completely human. Jolene's skin was now a solid gray with a white underbelly. Her lower female attributes gone. Jolene even had a dorsal fin on her back where her butt should've been! The front portion of her was the only thing humanoid, but now had shark attributes. Jolene's nose was more pointed and slightly curved upward. Her nostrils more positioned to her cheeks and smaller, as rows of thick sharp teeth lined her gums. She still had her short strawberry blond hair and warm brown eyes.

_Are ya okay, Naruto?_ asked Rue as she appeared on his other side. Her long black hair flowed behind her as she stared at him with her garnet eyes concerned. At least their eyes remained human.

Rue changed too, only her color wasn't as Jolene's. Her skin color changed to a greenish color with lighter almost water reflected patterned stripes on the sandpapery skin on her back and shark-like tail. She too had a dorsal fin, but her teeth were different from Jolene's. Rue's teeth were more thin and curved back into her mouth, unlike Jo's. They must've all been different types of sharks. It made him now wonder what he looked like.

Curiously he looked at the skin of his arm. It was almost a deep blue in color. He glanced back at his form to see like the girls he too had a dorsal fin on where his butt should've been, and of course the long tail that moved side to side instead of up and down.

In a fit of rage he twisted and pitched a fit as he blurted, _I'm so gonna kick that Neme Lady's ass the next time I see her! She could've warned me about this! Damn it, this isn't right! _With an angry snort Naruto then looked between Jolene and Rue. _What?_

Jolene smirked at him, _You like, sure do get pissed off real quick._

_Well, this is bullshit! _said Naruto as he scowled deeper. Then a thought occurred to him, _Wait a minute . . . we're not talking so how can we hear each other?_

_It's called echoing,_ replied Rue. _It's a common trait for water spirits to use so they can communicate underwater. It's similar to telepathy. Ya know, like mind reading and what-not. Pelagia must've imbued echoing into the potion, so we all could communicate. It'd be such a pain if we couldn't communicate with each other, ya know what I mean._

_Oh . . ._ he mumbled. He looked at Jolene and said, _Why would the sea witch give us a potion and tell us nothing about it? I mean, _he gestured to himself and said, _she could have given us a bit of a warning about this! _He ran his hand over his hair and grumbled, _Stupid, octopus lady and her stupid riddles._

_I'm sure that Lady Neme knew all along,_ said Rue. She pouted and said, _Lady Neme probably planned it this way, 'cause she likes to do things like this to keep me on my toes. When she said animorph, I reckoned that we'd change into something that lived up underwater, but I wasn't sure what'd we all change into. After we drank the potion she told us to get into the water. _

_Yeah, Neme has like, always been like this. She doesn't give us the whole details in some things so we can like, learn for ourselves when it comes to potions and spells. Sometimes it's fun, and other times it can be like, scary, _said Jolene. _We started to worry when after we changed in the water, and couldn't find you._

Rue nodded in agreement, while Naruto was too busy overlooking his body. It was like he was a merman; the torso of a man and lower half of a fish. The one important thing that made him a man was currently missing in action. Where his manly equipment should've been was where his sharks-like belly was now located.

_Man, _groaned Naruto. _If my junk doesn't come back after this, I'm gonna kill both Pelagia and Neme._

This caused the girls to giggle. Rue smiled and said, _Don't worry, Naruto. Everything will return to normal once the potion wears off. There might be some after effects to our senses, but other than that, cookies and doodles usually go back to normal._

_I'm gonna be so pissed if it doesn't, _he replied as he glared ahead. He then looked at Rue and said, _You call a penis a doodle? _

Her cheeks flushed red as she whined, _Why does everyone always have to go on and pick on my words, dagnabbit! _

_Like, calm down, Rue Calamity. Let's get on the quest, _said Jolene as she retrieved the scoll of the map from her satchel. She rolled it out as she said, _Pelagia said that we like, needed to start at the reef south of the island. _She pointed the area out with a clawed finger. Jolene looked between the two and said, _It shouldn't take us more than like, two or three hours to swim there in these awesome forms. We have to make sure we keep on the right course though. I have a compass, but like we should be able to sense whether we're going the right way or not as long as we focus on the natural abilities of the shark. Sharks like, have electromagnetic sensors and I think I read somewhere that some sharks like, use their sensors to navigate through the waters by detecting the electromagnetic fields of the earth. If I can possibly figure out how to channel that ability, I think I might be able to like, get us where we're going and then back to the island without much trouble at all._

_Cool, _replied Naruto. _I'll leave that to you, 'cause I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. I just know that I have to somehow get a fang from Molla without killing him._

_Do you have any type of plan, Naruto?_ asked Rue.

He curtly nodded and glanced his eyes at her, _I'm going to try and confuse Molla. I haven't used the shadow clone jutsu yet, and I think this is going to be the perfect time to test it out and see what I can do with it. Other than using that jutsu, I have no idea what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it. _He smiled cheekily exposing his long-shaped rows of teeth as he said,_ I've never been one to really plan ahead. _

Rue rubbed the pendant on the choker still around her neck in thought and mumbled, _Well, maybe you could put Molla in some type of trance. _She glanced at him and said, _I can cast a glamor pretty good; a glamor is an illusion; so maybe I can put Molla in some type of illusion before ya engage him._

_That might be a good idea . . . I can't do genjutsu that well, so that works out great! _replied Naruto as a confident smile spread across his face.

_What's genjutsu? _inquired Rue.

_Illusionary Techniques, _said Naruto. _I suck at them, bad. I usually don't even realize that I'm in a genjutsu until it's too late. I can't cast them either that well 'cause I have no concentration or chakra control from what Iruka-sensai told me . . . Iruka was one of my only teachers who seemed like he cared about me, but he didn't take the extra time to help me in my studies when I really needed it. It would've been nice if he would've, but, as an instructor and chunnin, he was busy. Plus, I wasn't that easy of students to deal with._

_You miss him, huh. _When he didn't respond, Rue said, _You'll get home soon, Naruto. Don't worry, _said Rue as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. _I promise that I'll help ya get home in any way I can. No matter what it takes._

He smiled at her and said, _Thanks, Rue._

Her response was to smile back. They swam for a while, out skirting the island. They saw other cecaelia nymphs, who smiled and waved at them. Courteously, the team waved back. The area beneath the waters around the island was nothing but sand and weeds. Schools of fish would dart this way and the other when they swam close. Smaller lemon sharks curiously swam up to them, to then return back to their sandbars.

_We need to start heading this way, _said Jolene as she glanced back at the two. She held her compass before her and said, _We've trailed the island to the southern end . . . It's time to swim and see what we can do. As long as we keep straight on a southerly course, we should be there in no time. _

Naruto gazed out into the open ocean. His vision easily adapted and could see things so clearly that he couldn't see underwater before. Tedious as the mission seemed, Naruto started to feel exited. He was going to have to get a pen and a clear scroll so he could write out all his adventures within this world. All of the quest and missions he was sure to go on he'd have to document thoroughly like a real mission report. Then when he did find a way home, Naruto could present _his _scroll with the Scroll of Sealing to the Hokage, clear his name, and become an official Ninja of Konoha. For now though, Naruto was settled on just being a ninja in training in this world, even if he had to teach himself to be the best shinobi ever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good.

* * *

**Chapter Five:** Way Down in the Deep Blue Sea . . .

**Side Note: **For some reason that kept popping into my head as I wrote this chapter, so I turned it into the chapter title. Gotta love Sponge Bob – another thing I do not own. And no, there isn't any other Sponge Bob stuff in the story, just the chapter title . . . well, maybe just the chapter title. ^-^

* * *

It had been a while since they've done something like this. They walked in what appeared to be no destination in mind through the forest. One man was dressed in a white robe. This man's hair was silver with age, along with his facial hair. A pipe was perched between his lips, and his winkled face held an expression of wariness. The other man was larger than the other. His hair was naturally white and spiky. A headband with a metal plate with the kanji "oil" inscribed kept his wild locks of hair out of his face. A mole was on his nose, and red tearstains lined his cheeks. He wore a gaudy outfit, and he carried a rather large scroll strapped to his back.

It was a nice day out. It wasn't too hot, not too cold. Perfect weather, on what was turning to be a not so perfect day.

"It was around here, Jiraiya." said the robed man as he glanced at his counterpart.

Jiraiya looked over to the old man who puffed on his pipe before slipping it from his mouth.

"Here?" questioned Jiraiya as he looked around the forest and rubbed his chin in thought. There wasn't much to the place. Nothing outstanding about it at all, well, except for the ravine created about a month back from a mudslide. That was new.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded his head and said, "This is where he vanished without a trace. Not even our best sensors could detect where the boy went. His energy came through here, but from this point on it just disappears."

"Did you have someone check down that gulch to see if maybe he fell?" asked Jiraiya as he peered over the side. "That's one hell of a fall. Kid might've broken his neck and died." he looked to his former teacher and said, "That would explain why his chakra signature vanishes here. You don't give off chakra unless it's channeled and you're alive."

"I've scoured the place myself. Naruto isn't down there." stated Hiruzen as he cut his eyes to Jiraiya.

"Maybe when he ran he got lost or something or just doesn't want to come back to the village." mumbled Jiraiya. "You said that Iruka did say that Mizuki told the kid the truth . . ."

"Naruto didn't run away," stated Hiruzen with his tone more agitated. "Naruto vanished. How he vanished, I don't know. He was scared and confused. I watched through the crystal the entire time Naruto was out here . . . and when he did run he intended to come to me, but Naruto ran blindly. This was the last place I saw him, before he just vanished. I _saw _him vanish. How he vanished, I don't know. I do know that sensors detected an odd energy flux while examining the area." the old Hokage moved closer to the ravine and overlooked it for a moment. He nodded to himself and reached out and pointed down the ravine as he said, "It's down there, about one or two meters."

Jiraiya sneered. "You think the energy flux has something to do with the kid disappearing?"

Hiruzen nodded. "That's why I called you here. You're the only person I can trust with this, Jiraiya, and I know that if anyone can figure this out, it is you."

"I already don't like this," sighed Jiraiya. He crossed his arms and looked down the ravine. "You know I have a lot on me already." he looked back to his mentor. "I can't take this on right now. Besides, I haven't heard anything about anyone kidnapping the kyuubi host through the network. I think I would've heard something about that."

"The kidnapping of a jinchurikki wouldn't be something broadcast among all the ranks, Jiraiya. It'd be SS, or not even recorded at all, so it might not be leaked out yet." the old man shook his head stubbornly and said, "I don't believe he was kidnapped. He is lost, and Naruto needs to be brought home, Jiraiya. If this leaks out of the village, you can count on war. With him gone, it creates an imbalance between the villages. Wherever Naruto may be, we need to find him and retrieve him. I fear war may be looming on horizon with the boy gone."

"Who knows about this?" Jiraiya stared at the Hokage and asked, "What does everyone believe right now? About the brat suddenly turning up missing?"

"Honestly," mumbled Hiruzen. He puffed on his pipe and said, "Nobody knows anything. Everything about that night I enforced as a SS-Class Secret. What happened between Iruka and Mizuki never happened . . . Mizuki has gone on an extended mission from what everyone understands, as for Naruto . . . He has gone to study at another location. Naruto's location _out _of the village is treated as a SS-Class Secret as well. I am the only who knows of his location . . . from what the Council believes. Though, I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep them pacified, not with Danzo constantly questioning where Konoha's jinchurikki gone. They only see the boy as two things; as a burden and as a tool." The old man let out a heavy sigh. "When Naruto returns home, I will go from there."

Jiraiya rubbed his temples agitated. "And what about the Scroll of Sealing the brat had with him?"

"We don't know what happened to it. It hasn't been recovered. I'm assuming that it is still with Naruto, wherever Naruto may be." mumbled Hiruzen. He puffed on his pipe, and stared Jiraiya down as he said, "I do know that the energy flux has something to do with Naruto going missing. It's imperative that we figure out what that energy is, because every day it grows weaker. Sensors predict that within possibly another month or so's time, it will no longer be there. If we don't figure out what it is, we may lose Naruto forever, and there is no telling where he is. This could be a trap set up by Orochimaru . . . or enemies of worst nature to gain the kyuubi. I can only think the worst, Jiraiya . . . but I have the oddest feeling that wherever the boy may be, he is safe and well."

"I wouldn't let those feelings cloud reality, sensei. We have no idea who we're up against. Damn," uttered Jiraiya as looked down to the ground. "What an excellent godfather I turned out to be . . ." He looked back up to his mentor and said, "I'll do what I can, but I can't guarantee anything. I'm not someone who'd know much about this type of crap . . ."

Hiruzen nodded and said, "I have someone else who will help you who does have more time. In a way, he can help."

"Let me guess, Kakashi?" inquired Jiraiya. When the Hokage nodded, Jiraiya frowned. "Doesn't he have a genin team now?"

Hiruzen grimaced. He puffed on his pipe and said, "Unfortunately, no . . . they failed his test, and all three were sent back to the academy. Kakashi is open until next year."

"Heh . . ." Jiraiya chuckled. "I bet that Uchiha brat is mad, heh, heh."

"You have no idea."groaned Hiruzen.

"Well, Kakashi will be perfect for this with him having the Sharingan and actually understanding the quips of space-time jutsu. I mean seals, yeah okay I can handle that, but when it comes to energy vortexes and that space and time junk . . . Oi, this would've been something for Minato to tinker with and figure out." He looked to his former teacher and smiled as he said, "I mean, I do know about space and time, but Minato was a genius at it."

A frown crossed Hiruzen's lips and he said, "Regrettably, Minato is no longer here. If he were, none of this would've ever have happened in the first place."

* * *

Being beneath the ocean at night was simply magical. It wasn't just the moonlight that gently illuminated the surface, or the creatures that existed within the salt waters, but just the sheer thought of being within a whole other biome in which Naruto wasn't designed to naturally thrive within. That was what made it magical.

Did they have jutsus back home that could do stuff like this? Could a transformation jutsu actually produce an effect like this? He'd defiantly have to check it out. Plus, he'd have to find out more about potions. That might be something he could get into, to do stuff like this with a mere drink seemed pretty cool in Naruto's book.

For what seemed like the longest of time, they traveled along the oceans grassy bottom. They startled a stingray, which the ray almost caught Naruto with its barbed tail. Then when the group came across a rocky patch Naruto found this gigantic fat grouper. He couldn't help but chase the fat fish around, until the grouper got tired of being chased and decided to chase Naruto instead. They watched a school of large rays glide overhead of them closer to the surface, jellyfish with bioluminescence danced around them in majesty to then return to their own travel, while the closer they neared Molla's Reef more schools of fish began to appear.

When they reached what looked like a series of mountains beneath the sea, the trio came across a very old shipwreck. There wasn't much left to the structure of the ancient pirate ship, but it clearly used to be one, once upon a time. It rested upon the rocky reef and now was home to an assortment of corals, seaweeds, and a whole assortment of fish. Behind the shipwreck, a mass of rocky hills littered with seaweed and coral stood.

_Look on at this place, _mumbled Rue as she over looked the various colors of corals and plants. _It doesn't seem like it should even be here, almost like it's in a whole other plane, ya know._

Jolene glanced at the girl and said, _It might be._

_A lot of people died here, _said Rue. Her eyes continued to search the barnacled wood and over grown sea grasses, to see things there that neither Naruto nor Jolene could see. Rue mumbled. _They're all watching us . . . _

_No, no . . . Let's not start that. Let's go this way, __**away**__ from that area, _blurted Naruto as he veered to the left. _ Subject change, where do you think Molla's at?_

_Don't know. We might need to go on down and explore the reef,_ replied Rue. _There might be a cavern or cave he might be hidin' in. We need to be really careful though, cause he's supposed to be a giant eel. _She fumbled with the coin of her choker as she mumbled, _Giant usually means they can swallow ya whole._

_I wonder if it like, might be an electric eel, _wondered Jolene. A worried visage appeared on her face as she said, _That will like, complicate things. It can mess up our sensing and maybe even like, paralyze us. If we get paralyzed, we're dead._

_Then we'll send something down that doesn't have to worry about dying._ said Naruto with a smile. _We can circle around here, while I send shadow clones down to do reconnaissance. If something happens to them, they just puff out of existence and their memories and experience are supposed to transfer back to me. Within minutes, I can figure out what's going on down there, and see what we're dealing with . . . that's if I can figure out how the memory transfer thing works. _stated Naruto as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jolene nodded. _Now that like, sounds like a plan! I'll like, summon some skeletons too, they can go in the places that are like, darker and smaller, and like, report back to me telepathically on what they find. _

Naruto stared at Jolene as if she grown two heads. _Skeletons?_

_Well, like, what do you think a Necromancer does, Naruto?_ asked Jolene.

_I don't even know what the hell a Necromancer is._

Jolene grinned at him and said, _A Necromancer is like, a medium between the living and the dead. We can cast curses, create poisons, and do a whole bunch of other neat things that revolve around death and decay. We can use spirits to aid us, and like, even the dead. We can rise skeletons, zombies, golems, ooh, and we can like, create vampires and all of that cool stuff! I'm only a level 17 though, a journeyman. I have like, a long ways to go before I get to the title of Elite._

_You're pulling my leg, right,_ asked Naruto as he stared at her.

Jolene shook her head and said, _Nope. Dead serious, heh, no pun intended. _

_This place is going from weird to downright freaky, _mumbled Naruto.

_Ah, you're just like, not used to it, that's all. Rue's training is similar to mine, but they're like, sort of opposite too. I think it's way harder. _said Jolene with a shrug of her shoulder. _ To be a Priestess. _

_It's okay, _replied Rue.

Jolene shook her head. _It's one of the most dangerous of Crafts to learn, because like, the Priest only has two ways to go. Either they follow the light and become virtuous, or they like fall into the darkness and become evil. _

_Ya make it sound so sinister, _grumbled Rue. She looked at Naruto and said,_ When it comes to any Class or Craft, the one learnin' only has two ways to go. Either they follow the virtuous path or they choose the corrupted path, know what I mean?_

_ I guess. _replied the boy. _Enough talk, let's get this party started. _The two girls watched as Naruto brought his hands together into a simple seal and said, _Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu! _

Bubbles suddenly appeared in a mass, and as the bubbles quickly rose up to the surface, they unveiled ten perfect doppelgängers of Naruto. For a moment, Naruto stared at them. They all appeared in his animorphed form, and they looked down right freaky and awesome at the same time.

_I look so cool, _mumbled Naruto with a toothy smile. He looked between the girls and said, _I want to learn how to make potions now, so that way when I get home, I can have a completely new and awesome way to be a ninja!_

_Potion Mastery is neat, _replied Rue. _There's many different things ya can do with 'em, like healing potions, battle potions, and then ones like what we drank for magik type effects. _

Jolene added, _The possibilities can be endless. Now, it's my turn to summon some aid for your clones._

The girl closed her eyes and extended her hands to her sides with her palms up as she began to chant words that Naruto could not understand. Jolene's voice was so whispered within his mind as the static began to charge within the water. Naruto could feel it as Jolene built up her mana to perform her spell. Her hands shook as she raised her hands. When Jolene opened her eyes, they were no longer brown. They were pitch-black. Violet mixed with murky green energy gathered at her hands as from down below the sand began to shift. Her chanting grew louder and with a shout, Jolene raised her hands over her head to blast the gathered energy at her hands to the seabed.

Bubbles rose as the sand stirred and clouded the water. The sand cleared to reveal bones that quickly shifted out of the seabed. Some of the bones rose piece by piece to assemble as it moved up to where the group swam. Within moments, an assortment of small to big fish . . . and possibly a really big dolphin or a small whale skeleton all congregated before the lot waiting for their commands. Each of the skeleton's eyes glowed deep violet ringed with green.

_This is out right freaky! _uttered Naruto, for one his clones to shake its head in agreement.

_Okay, boney fish and mammal, team up with a Naruto clone commander and like, assist them. As your commanders, listen to them and like, do whatever it is you need to do to get this done to find Molla. _stated Jolene.

The aquatic skeletons dashed off to team with each of Naruto's clones. It took a few minutes, for one of the smaller fish and larger began to fight over one clone . . . the fight ended badly with the smaller skeleton now broken in pieces as they floated down to the seabed. A clone down right freaked out when the whale skeleton chose it and began to swim around in outright fear of the skeletal whale eating him. It didn't help when the whale skeleton gave chase and seemed to tease the clone. Within seconds, a small war broke out between skeletal minions and clones.

_Hey,_ shouted Jolene as she pointed her finger at her summoned skeletons, _Like, you guys are supposed to be working together, duh! Stop arguing and fighting!_

When a clone commented on how tiny his skeleton fish was, it attacked the clone with vicious furry. The clone chomped down on the skeleton to dispel after the boned puffer fish expanded within the clone's mouth. Loud shouting occurred as the clones began to argue amongst each other and their new skeletal teammates. The whole ordeal quickly turned into a chaotic mess. Eventually, Naruto's tempter got the best of him.

_ALL OF YOU STOP BEING IDIOTS AND SHUT THE HELL UP, DATTEBAYO!_

Naruto stretched out the whole, dattebayo part as he swam in a figure eight motion, his fist clenched onto his hair and his brows scowled in agitation. The ruckus stopped as the remaining clones looked to their creator in wonderment, and mischievous innocence.

_What up, boss,_ replied one of the clones with a smug smile.

The smile vanished when Naruto's fist crashed into the clones face. In a burst of bubbles the clone too vanished. _Any other smart asses that want a start with me? _He looked over his now, obedient appearing clones. _Let's get this over with. You're wasting time being stupid, _said Naruto as he turned to his small platoon. _We need recon. I need you guys to search that reef and see if you can find a giant eel. _

One of the clones pft, and said, _We know already, gees. _

_Yeah, _replied another. _We were created from you, so we kind of have the general concept of what we're supposed to be doing._

_Duh, _sniggered a third. _ We're basically you, so you basically called yourself an idio– _

Bubbles were all that was left of the clone after Naruto's uppercut. Naruto crossed his arms and said, _Get serious. Go now and work with the freaky skeletons. _

There was a mixture of _alrights, _and _let's go_ as the team took off toward the reef. Naruto, Rue, and Jolene continued to circle the area. Each of them gapped their mouths to close them in order to breathe the salt water. As for the shadow clones and skeletons, they took off at full speed toward the shipwrecked reef.

There was an assortment of colors throughout the reef. Orange fish, blue fish, red ones and yellow . . . Then there was the corals and weeds of purples and reds, yellows and blues. Starfish were stuck to rocks, as urchins were perched upon the sand. Moonlight cascaded down upon the reef and gave it this magical glow.

_This is beautiful, _said one of the clones to no one in particular. The swordfish minion nodded in agreement.

Another clone swam up next to him and said, _Keep your head in the game, baka. We're in enemy territory. _He looked between the other clones and skeletons as it said, _We'll split up so we can search the place faster. If you see anything of interest, dispel so boss can intercept the memory, but don't dispel for something stupid, like seaweed that looks like ramen. _

_Can we dispel if we see coral that looks like Sakura-chan's face? _inquired another clone.

_No, _replied the clone dully. _Only dispel if you find Molla, got it?_

_Fine, whatever, _and_ screw you,_ where the replies from the other clones as they departed down into the reef. Seven squads swam in different directions to scrutinize the reef. For the first few minutes, the clones didn't really find anything. The thought was that since it was a giant eel, it should've been easy to see. The more the teams searched each crevice, cavern, and small burrows within the reef and disturbed the sea animals the more they felt their recon was going nowhere.

_Hey,_ called a clone. _I think I found something! Come over here, this eel is huge!_

The others quickly swam over to investigate.

_Look, over here,_ called the clone with its skeletal barracuda at his side. He pointed to a cavern where the rest of the group watched a green tail slip deeper into the darkness of the cave.

_Awe,_ whined the clone. _You all missed it, it was just right here. _He swam toward the mouth of the cavern and said, _Maybe I can grab it and pull it out. _

_I wouldn't go in there,_ stated another clone. _You can't see what's in there._

The clone glanced back and said, _My fish's eyes glow . . . they're like lamps. I got this._

Without giving the other clone time to complain, the clone swam ahead into the cavern. The barracuda's eyes dimly lit up the area as the clone managed to follow the tight underwater tunnel of limestone and coral. The cavern continued to slant down and deeper into the seabed. It became darker the further and deeper he swam. In a flash of green, the clone caught a glimpse of the eel he followed into the darkness of the underwater caverns and quickly pursued it.

The downward tunnel turned level as the clone followed the eel twice his size. Dim moonlight bled in through cracks and holes above him, and instantly the clone realized he was far beneath the reef. There was a whole series of underwater caves beneath the corals and rocks above him! The barracuda minion darted ahead and broke the clone from its mesmerized state.

The minion dashed this way and that way to keep up with the eel. The eel cut off into another series of tunnels for the minion to keep right on the eel's tail. It darted into another cavern. When minion and clone turned into the darkened area, the eel was there facing them. The clone figured they tired the thing out. The clone went to grab the eel, to freeze mid-reach. Something was off in this cavern . . . the clone's eyes focused in on the walls around him. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or the walls in this cave moved.

_What the hell,_ wondered the clone as he glance this way and that.

There was a barrage of hissing, or at least what sounded like hissing and strange pop noises from all around. The barracuda's eyes illuminated the dark cavern that seemed to slither all around them. Glistens from slimy skin moving caught the clone's eyes, along with the hundreds of eyes were all around him. It was then the clone realized that he was in a cave filled with nothing but eels. Some of the eels were the size of the eel he chased into the cave, others smaller, and more much larger.

_Oh crap,_ the clone uttered. His echoed thought instantly startled the creatures around him. Hissing and growls sounded all around him and vibrated the through the water. As the clone turned to retreat, the sounds around him went silent. The walls ceased to move as even the water became deathly still. A horrible feeling raced up the clone's spine as a deep bass grumble vibrated through the cavern, and a large set of glowing blue eyes opened from the darkness of another cavern. The massive creature slowly moved forward as the clone floated there petrified.

_Oh shit,_ muttered the clone as a massive set of jaws opened exposing the eel's rather huge teeth. What was more impressive was the second set of jaws set further back into the eel's mouth that without warning launched at the clone and clamped down.

Far above the reef, Naruto's eyes widened as he blurt, _What the hell was that! _

This caused Rue to look at him oddly as Jolene's face twisted in worry. Naruto violently shuddered as the same horrible feeling his clone once felt crept up his spine. The animorphed boy shook his self and groaned.

_What happened? _asked Jolene. _I didn't get anything like, telligable from my minion. It only kept transmitting, darkness and follow. Then it just went like, dead._

The reef below them went silent. All of the fish that were once out and about retreated to the cover of the corals. Anemones retracted as the few black tip sharks quickly swam away into the darkness of the ocean.

_What's going on,_ mumbled Jolene as she stared down at the reef. She shook her head and said, _Something is like, wrong. _She looked to Naruto and said, _I've lost half of my minions . . . have you noticed anything with your clones?_

Naruto scrunched his eyes in thought as he said, _I . . . I don't know. I can't tell if it's memories being sent back to me or my own memories of the reef. Man, this jutsu is confusing . . ._

Rue let out a small gasp, _Molla's here . . ._

It was instantaneous when a deep screech vibrated throughout the water. The trio watched as skeletons and clones burst or shattered out of existence. Bubbles rose from the seabed and as a huge serpentine creature rose out from between the reefs. Jolene let out a small gasp, as Rue's face crinkled with worry. Naruto could only gap.

The eel was _huge_. It was a gigantic Moray eel, one the size of the old shipwreck. Molla's bright green skin shimmered in the moonlight as it slithered through the water over the reef.

_Th-That's Molla,_ uttered Naruto in awe. _It's big . . . and looks pissed off._

Molla of the Reef gracefully moved over the corals and weeds as it searched out the strangers within its territory. Its eyes glowed blue, the monster's long muzzle lined with teeth – and those very teeth seemed to attract Naruto's attention. They were so bright to him, and he knew for a fact that he needed one of those damn teeth.

_Molla's fang, _he thought, which seemed to cause the giant creature to turn its full attention onto them.

_I told ya that giant means they can swallow ya whole, _said Rue as she pulled her staff from her holster. _I'm going to try and glamor him now, so be ready._

The black haired girl of the group kept her eyes locked with that of the eels. Once again, energy filled the area when Rue channeled her force. The rock crystal orb within her staff began to glow with bright teal energy as girl and monster stared each other down.

_Stay calm . . . _uttered the girl. Only Naruto and Jolene wasn't sure if Rue said that to the eel or herself. She shifted the staff before her and softly said, _Let it be you only see, a calm sea of tranquility. With no danger within your sight, ease your senses, dull your fright._

It seemed for a moment that the eel calmed, that was until the giant creature opened its massive mouth and let out a threatening hiss.

_Oh shit, _uttered Naruto when the monster eel headed right for them.

Rue shouted, _It's too powerful for me to glamor! I can't keep eye contact and it's blocking my force!_

_Run!_ screamed Jolene as she darted down toward the reef.

Naruto corrected, _You mean SWIM!_

Molla instantly was on them and giving case down into the corals and weeds. This quest seemed impossible to Naruto. How was he supposed to get one of Molla's fangs without killing the damn thing?

_Think, _thought Naruto as he scowled in eyes in anger. _Think damn it! _

As Molla neared with fangs bared, Naruto darted over a brain coral between the girls as he made a crux seal with his index fingers and shouted, _Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!_

Bubbles distorted the water as clones darted this way and that which caused the eel to pause and snap at the clones that went various directions. That was a little too close for comfort in Naruto's book. If he didn't think of something fast, they were all going to be eaten by a stupid monstrous eel. Naruto pulled both Rue and Jolene down and away from the monster as it thrashed and maimed the clones that bombarded it. Naruto kept a tight grip on the animorphed girls as he dragged them into the cover of the shipwrecked boat. Once he felt they were out of immediate danger he let them go.

_What are we gonna do?_ asked Rue.

_We need to like, daze Molla somehow, _replied Jolene. _I should've like, read up on eels more when I was in the hospital . . . I have no idea what their like, weaknesses are or how their like, senses work._

_No, we needed a better plan, _replied Rue. _I didn't think Molla would be so darn powerful. We'll have to take a different approach. We can't do somethin' like this without some type of plan . . . and back up plans, know what I mean, ya guys?_

Naruto wasn't really paying attention to them. He was inspecting the boat, with recent thoughts of it being haunted no longer within his mind. The boat was much larger than he realized, and still more intact than what the outside perceived. Jolene and Rue silently watched him as Naruto's mind began to work overtime as he searched the ship.

A long post rose from the deck that once was part of the crow's nest. Barrels stood here and there, a lot of sand accumulated over time, and seaweeds and corals had taken over the ship. The deck was damaged in places, but the opening to the cargo hold beneath still looked decent.

With effort, Naruto tried to pried open the old cast iron cage that sealed off the hold. He summoned five clones, to end up summoning another five just to pry the cage open. Sand filtered into the water and the rusty metal creaked in complaint. The cage thudded down onto the old wood as Naruto looked down into the dark depths. He inspected the hold below cautiously and slipped down inside. It was dark but Naruto could see old wooden barrels, debris, and an old cargo net down in the hold. His eyes widened as an idea formulated within his mind.

_Help me get this net up, _said Naruto as looked to his clones.

Jolene watched as she asked, _What do you like, have in mind, Naruto?_

_I'm going to trap Molla, _replied Naruto as he lifted a portion of the large net. _I think his head will fit in here. I'll lure him down here into this storage place. Once I get its head down here, my clones will push that cage on Molla's body to trap him, and then I'll use this net to tangle it around his head so I can somehow get one of its fangs._

_Will this even work?_ asked Rue as she stared down at him from above. _Molla's pretty big._

Naruto shrugged and said, _If it doesn't I'll have to come up with something else. _

_But, shouldn't we help ya? Ya know, like use teamwork or something? _asked Rue.

Naruto shook his head and said, _I got this, just stay back. _

The girls didn't question him anymore as Naruto continued to prepare his trap. Naruto didn't have much time for Molla finished off the last of the clones and already started to stalk their way. Jolene and Rue took shelter on behind the wreck as Naruto sent his other clones to meet Molla and lure it in.

One after one of the clones dispelled the closer Molla neared. Naruto summoned more clones, to wait within the cargo hold as others hid to push the cage over on Molla's body once it slithered into the hold. Like clockwork the clones lured the monster to the shipwreck and once the last one dispelled, Naruto flung his arms about to catch Molla's attention. Instantly the eel was on him as the animorphed boy dashed down over the wreckage with Molla on his tail. Naruto slipped inside the cargo hold just as Molla clamped the water where the boy once was.

The giant eel hissed as it stared down into the hole with its face sideways and one eye glaring down at Naruto. Maybe the eel was a bit too big; Molla was as large as the boat itself!

_You stupid ugly fish can't get me now! _teased Naruto as he shot Molla a set of twin birds and stuck out his tongue.

Molla's blue eye narrowed in anger. In a green flash Molla darted into the hold that it could just barely squeeze through after the boy. Naruto swam into the corner as Molla's glowing eyes lit up the area.

_NOW! _ shouted Naruto.

Clones quickly lifted the iron gate and let it fall onto Molla's body instantly causing the eel to thrash. Within the chamber clone's quickly darted around the eel's mouth pulling with them the ends of the old cargo net. Within seconds, the eel tangled his muzzle within the net as it thrashed, hissed, and growled.

_Yosh! We got him! _cried a clone as it fist pumped.

Molla's eyes narrowed in rage as he let out a deep growl that vibrated through the water. It twisted to the left and then the right to snap its jaws wide open. The old net instantly broke as the wood of the ship around the eel broke. With a slap of Molla's tail it dispelled three clones above the cargo hold, and with a clamp of his jaws dispelled two others. Naruto watched in horror as his plan backfired.

Molla launched at him. Naruto ducked behind a support beam within the hold. He yelped when he found himself almost caged within Molla's teeth on each of his sides. The pillar held true as the eel thrashed and even snapped its second jaw at the wooden beam that kept Molla from eating the boy. The long white fangs were so close . . . and one of them broken off into the beam. That fang shone so brightly to Naruto. Instantly he reached up for it, only the beam splintered and cracked as Naruto quickly moved and retreated up a set of stairs and up into a deckhouse.

Naruto screamed as the eel broke through. Splinters of wood and sand cascaded into the water around him as Naruto gripped onto the long snout of the eel. Molla's glowing eyes scowled as it stared cross-eyed down at Naruto hanging from its snout. Without any warning, the seabed shook and caught both eel and boy off guard when large ivory spikes shot up from the ground. The spikes curved and enclosed around the eel as it thrashed and tried to wiggle its way out. The spikes continued to follow the eel until they enclosed around the giant eels form and caged it within.

With Molla thrashing and enraged Naruto lost his grip and was flung from the monster's snout. He regained himself as he swam further away to then look back at the encaged beast. As Naruto looked over the cage, he realized they were bones. Huge white bones that kept Molla trapped within a series of large skeletal hands.

_This like, won't last long, _shouted Jolene as he looked to her. Jolene kept her arms extended with her hands braced together before her; once again, her eyes were black as she kept her spell channeled. _It'll fade in about another ten seconds! He's too big for me to hold for long!_

Meanwhile Rue kept stationary as she slightly fanned her hands before her. Teal energy congregated to her hands before she cast her spell and uttered, _Blessed Sleep._

The glow from Rue's hands vanished, and suddenly Molla's form glowed for an instant. To Naruto's amazement, Molla stopped thrashing. The gigantic eel grew still as its eyes lost their bright luminance. Within mere seconds, the glow faded to a dim light as the eel drifted into Rue's trance.

_Hurry and get a fang before he wakes up,_ shouted Rue to Naruto.

Jolene let her arms rest as she said, _We need to like, get out of here before he wakes up._

Naruto nodded as he said, _I know where one is, I'll get it and we can get the hell out of here! _

He swam as fast as he could back down into the wreckage of the ship. He hoped that the pillar was still there with the fang lodged in it. Molla just about destroyed the whole ship, but something glistened and caught Naruto's attention amongst the debris. Quickly the boy pushed away the wood and fanned away the sand to reveal the chunk of wood where Molla's fang shined for him.

_Heh, only my eyes can see, _mumbled Naruto as she reached out to the fang.

_Naruto! _called Rue. _Hurry the spell is fading and Jolene's already released!_

Naruto grasped the fang and with a bit of force pried it from the pillar. He then took off to the girls who waited for him and together they sped off briskly as they could to get away from Molla of the Reef before the eel woke from his trance.

After swimming hard for a good twenty minutes, the trio slowed. Naruto kept the fang gripped tight within his hands. The fang wasn't small by any means. It was at least a half a meter long, and a few inches wide. Why he needed something like this for concealment, Naruto had not one clue.

_You like, do realize that it's better to work together, right?_

Naruto looked to Jolene as he slipped the fang into his satchel. _Huh?_

_Naruto, why are Rue and I here? I mean, you want us here to like, help you don't you? _questioned Jolene as she burned her eyes into his. _We're supposed to be a team. We have to like, trust each other, dude. If you don't trust us to like, help you, then why did you even let us tag along. _piped Jolene as she cut her eyes to him.

She sounded pissed off. Naruto looked ahead as he said, _Didn't we work together back there?_

Jolene kept her eyes scowled as she frowned. _Not exactly, Naruto. In the beginning while doing recon, yeah, but like, at the end you went solo. Teams don't do that. We all have roles to play. Teammates trust each other and they like, depend on each other and have each other's backs. You can't do all of this like, alone. We may not be ninja, but we do have our own skills, Naruto. We're here to help, not be cast to the side and watch you like, get killed._

_What, and you think I want to stand by and watch something happen to either of you because of my stupid ideas? I didn't want your help because I didn't want either of you getting hurt. Trust isn't the issue here, I just . . . I . . . _Naruto scowled as he crossed his arms stubbornly. He thought about what it was he wanted to say; only Naruto wasn't even sure what he was trying to say. _I didn't want either of you getting hurt, _mumbled the boy. _I don't want someone getting hurt because of me or because of my stupidity . . . so yeah, I went solo and it was a good thing I did. If either of you were hurt or even killed by that stupid eel, I would've killed it . . . and felt like shit the rest of my life, so excuse me for caring. _

Jolene softly smiled and said, _That goes both ways, doofus. Do you like, think either Rue or me want to see you get hurt or killed? Seriously, Naruto, how dense can you like, be?_

Naruto swam in silence as he lost his scowl. This was a completely different from what he accustom to dealing with. When he got hurt back home, people either laughed or turned away from him. Even those he thought to be friends . . . Would either Kiba or Shikamaru helped him or even risk their life for him? What about Choji or Shino? Where they his friends or did they just put up with him for all those years?It made his head hurt the more he thought about it and tried to compare his past with this strange present.

It almost made him not want to leave this place . . . but that was a ludicrous thought that he instantly extinguished. Iruka was back home, along with the old man Hokage, and Ichiraku Ramen, and Sakura-chan . . . Naruto was going home, one way or another he was going to find his way back to where he belonged. This place was a figment . . . a world he didn't belong in . . . a world that he was growing attached to, and one day would be very hard to leave.

Naruto lightly chuckled. He was so happy that he was in the ocean and neither girl could see the tears that would've welled in his eyes if he were on land.

_I messed up,_ he mumbled with a shake of his head.

Rue looked at him and inquired, _What do ya mean, Naruto?_

He only smiled at her and said, _It's nothing, Rue. I'm just thinking of stupid stuff from home . . . that's all. _Maybe he just didn't have the guts to tell her that one day soon, he was going to leave . . . and this bond they were creating would be broken.

_The Golden Pearls, _said Jolene as she broke Naruto out of his musing. With the map before her and her compass out she said, _They're back north . . . it'll take a while but we should be able to get there in about four hours or less._

_Why so long? _griped Naruto.

Jolene glanced at him and said, _It took like, an two and a half hours to get to Molla's Reef. Well we have to travel that time back toward the island, right? The chasm is about another hour and a half north of the island, so it's going to take time to get there. _

_It's probably around midnight now,_ mumbled Rue. She rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a silver pocket watch. After looking at the time, she nodded and said, _It's twelve sixteen,_ _so we should make it to the chasm a little after three-thirty. I just wonder how long it'll take in the chasm to find the Golden Pearls._

_Damn, _mumbled Naruto. _I was hoping to get this all done sooner._

_We have time, _stated Rue. _You can't pick the Nereid's Tears until tomorrow night anyhow. It has to be during the full moon._

Naruto let out a groan and cursed, _Damn . . ._

It was close to four in the morning when the team made it to the area where the chasm was located. There was no growth upon this portion of the gulf, and the fish along the bottom were scarce. The moonlight was faint in this area of the sea. The water here was deeper, darker, and much cooler than the coastal region.

On satellite imagery there was no chasm within the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico. As the group checked the area, they began to wonder if there was an abyss at all. Then again, Naruto was expecting to see some type of yawning gap within the earth. There wasn't one though.

_I think I found it, _replied Rue as she circled over an area.

Jolene and Naruto both looked down into the small hole in the seabed. Jolene raised one of her brows in uncertainty as Naruto shook his head.

_No way,_ grumbled Naruto. _That's not a chasm, that's a hole._

_An abyss,_ replied Rue as she stared down into the hole. A serious expression overcame her face as she said, _This looks an awfully lot like the entrance to a gateway . . ._

Jolene instantly looked at Rue as she said, _Like, a gateway to what, Rue?_

Rue bit on her lip. She looked between Naruto and Jolene and mumbled, _The Underworld._

_Seriously,_ whined Jolene.

_Well, I can't be too sure. It could just be a pathway with the gate a mile or two down the way. Then again, it might just be an entrance to an underwater kingdom . . . but I'm doubting that. I don't sense living auras . . . just death, _said Rue as she peered deeper into the hole.

Before Jolene or Naruto could elaborate, Rue slipped into the hole. Her tail flickered away into the darkness and instantly the girl vanished.

_She just left us . . ._ uttered Jolene as she crossed her arms. _I hate it when she like, does that._

_Does she do it often? _asked Naruto as he peered into the hole.

Jolene nodded. _Only when it involves the dead, she has this thing where she like, gets along with the dead better than the living. _

Naruto watched as she too slipped into the hole and disappeared into the darkness. The dead . . . With a sigh Naruto gripped the edge of the hole and followed the girls into the abysmal depths. It was pitch black, with not much room for Naruto to swim. He had to pull himself along the tunnel. He couldn't hear Jolene nor Rue. He couldn't even see them. Hell, he couldn't even see his own hands it was so dark. The tunnel just kept going and going . . .

After twenty minutes or so of climbing through the tunnel, the area began to expand. Naruto could swim once again as the light behind him vanished long ago, for a new dim light to appear before him. The closer he neared the more his stomach began to twist. Something didn't feel right.

The tunnel ended and dropped Naruto into a circular chamber. Literally, he dropped right out of the tunnel into an air bound chamber. He momentarily freaked out, to land in squat on the cobblestone floor. Naruto blinked as he stared down at his hands that no longer were clawed or webbed nor blue. Toes wiggled on his human feet, his skin returned to normal, as he realized he was no longer in his animorphed form. He stood to his height and instantly grabbed his crotch, and let out a relieved sigh. Naruto was back to normal and completely naked . . . but why?

Cautiously he looked around the chamber. It was the strangest place Naruto had ever seen. It was almost like there was nothing there. The gray cobblestone made up the only floor, lined with elegant white columns that surrounded the circular area and supported the ceiling. Beyond the flooring and columns, there was nothing but a drop off into a complete dark oblivion. Center of the chamber stood a large glowing crystal that continuously pulsed with light. Both Rue and Jolene stood before the crystal, they too back to their original forms and too naked on the exception of the tops Neme provided them.

"What is this place?" wondered Naruto as he moved closer to the crystal.

"Huh?" uttered Rue as she glanced back at him with her eyes wide with confusion.

He raised one of his brows and said, "What is this place?"

Rue's lips curved into an O shape as her eyes widened all the more. "Uh oh."

Naruto scowled, "What?"

"Iway an'tcay understandway ayay."

Now Naruto's mouth curved into an O shape. "What?"

Jolene's brows rose as she tapped Rue's shoulder and said, "An'tcay ouyay ikelay, useway ethay ellspay Neme astcay onway imhay?"

Rue shook her head and pointed to the crystal. "Itway egatesnay allway agikmay orcefay. Eway an'tcay useway anamay erehay. Onenay atway allway."

Not understanding their jargon, Naruto said, "What the hell? Are you guys speaking some type of weird secret language I can't understand, dattebayo?"

Jolene blinked at him and then looked to Rue and said, "Ishay anguagelay oundssay osay oolcay."

Rue shook her head and went to Naruto with modesty and embarrassment far from her mind at the moment. She tapped her lips and then Naruto's and shook her head. "Anguagelay arrierbay. An'tcay understandway."

"I don't understand," said Naruto as he shook his head. Then his eyes widened. "The spells canceled out somehow . . ."

Well, this was great. Now how was he supposed to get through this?

* * *

**NOTE:** Yeah, I used basic Pig-Latin for the girl's jargon, which is basically what I'll use when it comes to other's speaking different languages anyway, that's if the characters speak . . . So, yeah. Hooray for Pig-Latin!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I did not create Naruto. This story is merely for entertainment purposes only. So, read, don't read . . . whatever. It's all good.

* * *

**Six: **Close Encounters of the Water Kind

* * *

This underwater adventure became all the more complicated with Naruto unable to communicate with the girls. Maybe this mission was required for him to go alone.

"Naruto," said Rue, catching the boy's attention. "Iway avehay anway ideaway."

The black-haired girl held her hand out to him. Confused Naruto placed his hand into hers. Briskly she pulled him to the crystal, and then placed her free hand on the large glowing shard. She motioned for him to do the same. With his brows narrowed he done so. Rue then closed her eyes. For some strange reason, Naruto felt he ought to do the same. Within moments he felt light all around him, though didn't know how or why. He could just feel it.

"Naruto," whispered Rue's voice.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a white void. "Eh?" he uttered as he looked around, and then placed his stare on Rue. "Where are we?"

"Technically, we're standing outside of the crystal," said Rue. "Our souls though are commutatin' within the crystal, which is where we're meeting right now."

He stared at her dumbstruck and uttered, "What?"

"We ain't got a whole lot of time for me to explain. This crystal negates all magik. While we are in this place, we won't be able to perform spells, and all current magik is negated. My concealment, the animorph spells, even the language spell Lady Neme cast on ya is negated while we're in this chamber. That's why you can't understand us and we can't understand you."

"How are we understanding each other now?" asked Naruto confused.

The white around them shifted as it took a deep scarlet tone, just as a gravelly voice responded, "**Neither souls nor spirits have a defined language . . . they understand all tongue and can speak all as well.**"

Behind Naruto a form manifested within the dimension of the crystal. It's body seemed to fill the crystal, as Naruto's eyes widened along with Rue's. Nine tails manifested and swayed throughout the void, a large scarlet furred body curved around them, as a muzzle lined with black curved into a malicious grin to expose ivory sharp teeth. The kyuubi glared down at the two rather small souls and scrutinized them with its red blood-shot eyes.

"You're him," mumbled Rue as she gaped up at the fox. "Wow, you're big."

Kurama sneered and lowered his nose to the girl. When he sniffed, Rue's hair trailed toward the beast. A growl vibrated from the fox as he glared at her.

"**Why do you not fear me, child?**" questioned the fox.

Rue blinked as if what the giant fox asked was a stupid question. "Am I . . . supposed to be scared, Sir?"

He exposed his teeth and growled, "**Yes.**"

"Ya just don't seem that scary to me," said Rue with a shrug of her shoulders."At least not right now, not in here."

Kurama was about to retort, until Naruto growled, "You're the monster that's sealed within me."

Slowly the fox turned his head to Naruto as a horrible chill rushed through the air. This boy . . . he would be just like the other two hosts, an unfair prison guard who locked away his freedom and stole his power. Kurama sneered at the boy, and pierced his eyes into the boy's. A smiled formed on the fox's muzzle as he could see it, that shard of contempt and hate in the boy's heart.

"**So now we meet face to face, brat,**" replied the fox. "**How do you feel about seeing the very thing that scorned your life, boy; the thing that made you an outcast and rejected by the very village you love so much? Does it make you angry, whelp?**"

Naruto clenched his fist and glared. His emotions —mainly anger— spiraled within him wanting to unleash on the beast. Oh, he wanted to yell and rant, maybe even smack the fox or something in that sense, but something else within him held Naruto back. It was almost like a whisper from somewhere deep within his mind . . . a kind and warm presence that made him feel that it wasn't even worth talking to the biju or even giving it his two-cents.

When Naruto didn't answer, the kyuubi smirked, "**How would you feel boy, if I told you that your pathetic parents are the ones who done this to you?**"

"What?" uttered Naruto as he lost his scowl and indifference. "They died when you attacked."

"**You're pathetic and stupid. Ever since your birth, brat, you've been lied to. The ones you respected and trusted told you nothing but what they wished for you to know so you would never know the truth. Do you actually believe that you were wanted, that your parents loved you? Ku, ku . . . How ignorant you are being that it was your own father who placed this curse upon you. Do you honestly believe it was out of love? Pft, you are nothing but a tool.**"

"M-My father . . . But the Fourth Hokage was the one who sealed you into me, not my dad." mumbled Naruto confused.

"**You are so dense it's disturbing.**"

"All he's tryin' to do is get ya all riled up, Naruto. Don't listen to him. Foxes are tricksters, and that's what this ol' fox is trying to do is trick ya." stated Rue as she cut her eyes up at the giant fox.

Instantly Kurama turned to the girl and said, "**What is your problem, girl?**" he bared his teeth and snapped his jaws. "**I could take you out with just one snip you insolent child.**"

"My name is Rue. Not girl, brat, or even insolent child! His name is Naruto, you old meanie, so I suggest that if ya are gonna talk to either of us, ya best start using our names, you ignoramus." stated the girl as she narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.

Kurama deadpanned, "**Are you serious? You just called me a series of inappropriate names, **_**brat**_. **Has anyone ever thought that perhaps even I have a name?**"

"You have a name," said Naruto surprised.

"I don't like your tone, besides you of all beings should know that names are too powerful of a thing to just go spewing out when it comes to beings like you, Mister. Now isn't the time for ya to be pestering us anyway! Go home bad fox."

With that said, she flicked the nine-tailed fox on its nose. Kurama twitched his nose as he abruptly rose to his height. That flick actually hurt! The fox's eyes widened as he stared down at what he once thought was a puny human girl.

"**You're a priestess . . .**"

"Darn tootin' I am!" Rue glared up at him and said, "And until you learn to be nice and reasonable, you are banished back from which you came!"

To Naruto's disbelief, the fox's form exploded into smoke and dissipated. The red glow vanished, the void of the crystal returned to its natural white hue. He looked to Rue who kept a dignified pout on her face. When she noticed him staring her complete visage changed when she smiled brightly.

"Anyway, as I was sayin' before we were interrupted, while we're in the chamber we're unable to use mana, and all magik created by mana is canceled. We ain't gonna be able to talk to each other until we get out. As for how we're communicating now, these are special crystals that can amplify spirit energy. By touching the crystal, our auras synchronize enabling us to communicate through the crystal. I'm thinking that's how the spirit fox was able to manifest was because his own energy was also synchronized with our own, being that his energy is a part of your own too." She puckered her lips into a pout before she said, "Though . . . There feels like there is another," she shook her head and said, "Nah, never mind."

"Oh-kay . . ." Naruto shook his head and said, "What just happened and what the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. We'll go over it all again later. Since only you can find the pearls, you have to lead the way. Stay on the paths, and don't go by any ledges. Jo and I will be behind ya, so just," she shrugged, "follow your instincts. It'll lead you to the pearls, okay."

He blankly nodded. With one last smile, she released his hand. Naruto felt her fingers tightly entwined with his own and the feeling of being bathed in light left. Upon opening his eyes Naruto noticed they were back in the chamber. He slowly slid his hand from Rue's and remained silent. Confusion swirled within his mind as he stared blankly at the crystal.

"Naruto?" mumbled Rue, her accent thick upon saying his name in her language, yet pulling him from his daze.

"Yeah, sorry." he nodded and cleared away his thoughts. "Follow my instincts to find the pearls . . ."

Jolene nudged Rue and said, "Atwhay appenedhay inway erethay?"

"E'llway alktay aboutway itway aterlay." said Rue as she watched Naruto.

The English language was really weird sounding to Naruto, and he couldn't understand anything the girls said. At the time though, it didn't matter. Even with the bombardment of questions needing answers plaguing his mind, Naruto did have something he had to do and that was finding three Gold Pearls. The problem was that Naruto had no idea where the pearls would be.

Three halls lead deeper into the abyss. Naruto stood before them and for a moment stared down each one. The one to the left, far down in the black depths, a small dot of light glowed. He shifted his satchel and placed his hand on his sword's hilt as he slowly walked into the tunnel toward the glowing light.

As they walked, small crystals upon the hall's stone wall softly illuminated the path. Where the arched tunnel ended, a long broken path awaited covered with stalagmites. Parts of the trail broke away from the brittle limestone that once held it up. Stalactite hung from the ceiling as complete darkness concealed the area in ghastly shadows. In the distance drips of water echoed, as all around surrounding the path was nothing but a fast running current of pitch black water.

Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Rue. Her red-eyes glowed within the darkness, and held such seriousness. The girl went to one of the nearest crystals and broke it off from the rock it grew from. Upon holding it, the shard glowed brighter than fire. She held it out to Naruto, who quickly took it. The shard's light amplified within his grasp. Rue then pointed to the water, and acted as if she were going to touch it, only to pop her hand with her other and shake her head. She then brought her hand up, and slid her thumb along her neck.

Naruto nodded. He clearly understood. Don't touch the water, or he'll die.

The trek continued as they navigated around the stalagmites, and carefully hopped over small breaks and gaps in the path. Naruto felt this prickling feeling on his neck, the sensation that they were being watched and followed. When they were almost out of the cave-like environment, Naruto completely froze when he heard sand and rock scrape along ground, and then plop into the water up ahead. Something was in the chamber with them.

The girls must've heard it too, for they too stopped in their tracks and cautiously looked around the room. Soft chattering echoed from one end of the room, as low chirps replied in the other. Then there was the tapping. That sounded from all around as whatever else in there with claws walked upon the limestone all around them. There had to be more than five of these unknown things and as the tapping grew closer, so did the chattering and chirps.

Once he regained feeling in his legs from the sudden rush of either adrenalin or fear, Naruto proceeded down the path at a trot. The cylinder-like dripstone began to accumulate to the sides of the path by this point, as the glowing crystals began to protrude from the ground as well. The chattering grew louder, along with the tapping.

Rue shrieked, followed by Jolene. Naruto glanced back, for something to smack into his face and latch on. It was his turn then to let out a shriek as he tripped and stumbled. The shard slipped from his grasp and shattered on the dank ground. Naruto pried the creature from him, and tried to look at it within the darkness. When it screamed and tried to take a bite out of him, Naruto tossed it aside. One grasped his leg, as another bit down onto his arm.

"What the hell are these things!" screamed Naruto as he flung the one off his leg, and smacked the other from his arm causing him to wince when it's teeth ripped through his skin.

When one pounced, Naruto's hands went through a series of hand seals unconsciously. The creature grunted when it grasped onto a broken stalagmite instead of the boy. Rue yelped when Naruto suddenly appeared next to her.

"Ehay ancay tillsay useway ishay owerspay!?" shouted Jolene as she knocked one of the creatures from her.

Rue's eyes widened as she said, "Ehay usesway chakra! Tatstay hyway!"

Naruto unsheathed his sword and sliced another of the weird creatures that pounced in half as he said, "Hey! I understood the chakra part of what you said!"

The gimpy monster Naruto cut fell to the ground as the other creatures swarmed to the dead thing, and began to eat it. More though came. Naruto quickly summoned clones to help fight off the growing amount of strange white monsters that appeared hungry and pissed off that they were there. The clones put up good fights, and made perfect distractions.

A shriek sounded to Naruto's left, followed by the _slish_ of a blade cutting through flesh. Jolene cut down another of the leaping white things as Naruto kicked one away, to then decapitate another. Rue shouted as she grasped two of the crystals and broke them from their perches. They bairly glowed as until she clapped them both together, causing the crystals to shatter. The entire chamber filled with blinding light. All of the creatures shrieked and dashed to the nearest shadow to hide.

Jolene and Rue latched onto Naruto's arms and pulled him into a full run as taps and high-pitched screams followed behind them. Jolene and Rue were talking, which he couldn't make out what they said. The only thing Naruto knew was that the light he first saw started to get brighter the closer they neared the next arched tunnel.

Upon reaching the arch and entering the tunnel, crystals abruptly glowed bright. The creatures following them screeched in pain, causing the group to stop and turn. They watched as small albino creatures quickly stopped before entering the light. They looked almost human, but been shrunk, and were nothing but skin placed over bone. Pointed teeth lined their lip-less mouths, as they only had holes for noses and ears. Naruto listened to Jolene rattle something out, but ignored her since he couldn't understand. He kept his eyes on the little monsters that began to pace the entrance, watching from the darkness, weary of the light.

Naruto snorted at the creatures, sheathed his sword, and went back toward the destination of his quest. The quicker he got this over with, the better. Crystals continued to brightly illuminate the area, and even the room in the chamber. It was another rotunda area, where perched on a podium stood a large strange human-animal hybrid statue. It had the body of a lion, and wings of an eagle with the bust and face of a woman.

As Naruto went to watch his step, he stopped. There was a slight problem. The tunnel ended, along with the path. Only the podium stood in this room, with no way to walk to it. There was nothing but a gaping abyss that appeared bottomless.

Before Naruto could proclaim this problem, the statue moved. A thick scaled tail with the head of a viper swished as stone skin fell away, even as the wings stretched stone cracked away. The statues eyes opened, revealing soft jade stone eyes. Within moments all of the stone fell from the statue leaving the living sphinx to gaze at Naruto serenely.

"_I have been waiting for you, Child of Godai no Chikyuu, for I guard the path to which you seek." _a soft voice whispered into the room. "_I have a riddle you must answer, but heed my warning Child of Godai no Chikyuu. If you answer my riddle right, you will receive what you need, three Gold Pearls, but if you fail, I will keep you and your friends here, forever as the very things you encountered before you entered here._"

"The things in that cave place," mumbled Naruto.

"_Do you accept my challenge, Uzumaki Naruto?" _questioned the sphinx with a nod.

Naruto nodded and said, "I don't really have a choice in this, do I?"

The sphinx shook her head no, and said, "_In your case, no, you do not. Here is my riddle: What has a course, but never studies; what has two banks, but never needs money; what has a mouth, yet never utters a word"_

Naruto looked to the girls, as they looked at him. They couldn't help him on this one. The whole language barrier thing messed that up. He looked to the ground and scrunched his eyes. Though he didn't look it on the outside, Naruto was freaking out on the inside. In no way was he smart enough to figure something like this out. _What has a course but never studies?_ _Me, _thought Naruto as he inwardly chuckled.

_Get serious,_ he thought as he slowly paced and rubbed his temples. He could hear Rue and Jolene chattering among their selves, but he couldn't understand their words. _What has two banks, but never needs money?_ There was something to this riddle, all Naruto had to do was figure it out. _A course . . . Course can mean different things . . . What has a mouth, but never utters a word . . ._

Naruto looked up at the sphinx perplexed. The strangest of things popped into his head. Actually, it was almost like something whispered it into his ear. It was that same warm presence, the one he felt within the crystal. It sent a chill down his spine, but the answer made sense.

The sphinx watched Naruto wearily as he cleared his throat and stood before the creature. "What has a course but never studies, what has two banks, but never needs money, what has a mouth but never utters a word? . . . A river."

The sphinx narrowed her jade eyes, and tilted her head indifferent. "_You chose wise to listen . . . for your answer is correct. You may pass_."

The room shuddered as from the dark abyss below, steps rose. Stone scraped against stone as levels of stairs rose from the abyss, leading Naruto to the pillar. There was a couple of skeletons, dressed in armor that rested on the steps. It made the boy gulp.

Cautiously, Naruto stepped onto the first step. Once he reached the third, he glanced back to see both girls continued to follow him wearily. By the time they reached the sphinx, the large creature had returned to its stoned state. It was as if it never woke to begin with.

Behind the massive statue stood a single elaborate entrance made of gold and encrusted with jewels. Naruto entered into the next room to find a square pool of clear water where the bottom was nothing but the glowing crystals. Amongst the crystals were these fairly large and round oysters.

Naruto had no idea what the oysters had to do with pearls, but he used a kunai to break the mollusk that dimly glowed from their clusters. He obtained three of them which he placed in his bag. He nodded to the girls, and turned to their only exit. He watched dumbfounded when thick stone sealed off the exit, keeping them trapped within the room.

"What just happened?" mumbled Naruto as he went to the sealed doorway and braced his hands upon it.

Rue gasped causing Naruto to turn. Water rushed into the sealed room from the once tranquil pond. It bubbled visciously for water to suddenly pour from other places in the walls around them. The water already reached their hips and steadily continued to fill the room.

"E'reway oinggya otay rowday!" shouted Jolene when the water reached their necks.

The water continued to rise, forcing the trio to float to the dark ceiling of the room. Within moments, there was no more air, and the water had a mind of it's own. A heavy current suddenly pulled and the trio was caught within it. The momentum picked up as darkness surrounded them and pushed them through what felt like a straw. Naruto cringed as his lungs burned for air.

Light momentarily blinded Naruto as he found himself floating within the sea. Bubbles rushed from his mouth as he could no longer hold his breath, for water rushed in. He floated for a moment and realized he could breathe the water again. As he looked over his form, he realized he was back into his animorphed form. He quickly looked around for Rue and Jolene, and saw that they too were back to the way they were before entering the abyss.

_Are you guys okay_? asked Naruto.

Rue blinked at him confused and uttered, _Huh?_

_Awe man, don't tell me you sill can't understand me_!? blurted Naruto crestfallen.

The girls giggled, and Rue said, _Naw, I'm just messin' with ya Naruto. We can understand ya again._

He dully stared at her, to then smile as he said, _Heh, that was pretty good. _ Naruto chuckled and admitted, _I was thinking about doing the same thing as a prank._

_I guess foxes think alike. Hey, I can try and heal that wound if you want. _mumbled Rue as she looked to Naruto.

He glanced at her confused, _What wound?_

_The one on your arm._ she said. _I can't heal major things, but I can mend smaller wounds and stuff._

Naruto looked to his arm where one of those weird creatures bit him. It wasn't bad now. The blood washed away as the gash of teeth marks didn't look as bad as it did when he first gotten it.

_I think I'm okay, _uttered Naruto. He looked over them both and said, _Were either of you hurt? _

Jolene shook her head, _Nothing to really worry about, just scratches._

_Same here, _sighed Rue. _I can still perform a cleansing, just in case they had poisons or anything. Ya can never be too sure about the undead._

For a moment the girl closed her eyes and took a breath. She twisted to Jolene and positioned her hands in a steeple position and exhaled her breath. _Holy Light . . . Cleanse. _Ribbons of various colored energy drifted from Rue's hands to Jolene. The ribbons of light danced around Jolene's form from her head to her tail, to then bunch together and vanish in a bright burst of light.

Before Naruto even knew it, the same colorful ribbons danced around him, gently lashed at his skin to pull wisp of dull greenish tendrils from him, for it all then to disappear in the same fashion. After Rue cast the spell on herself, Naruto watched her with curiously.

_Rue, _he mumbled to catch her attention. _ What type of jutsus do you have anyway? What can you do?_

She frowned at him dumfounded. Rue looked away and said, _It's nothing spectacular . . . I have three basic forms of study: Retribution and Smite, Spiritualism, and Holy Light. Retribution and Smite is offensive and defensive style spells, while Spiritualism revolves around exorcism mechanics, while Holy Light is healing spells._

_You don't have any type of taijutsu? _asked Naruto, to then add, _No hand-to-hand style of combat._

_Priestess aren't supposed to meddle in frays, _said Rue. _We're supposed to avoid conflict at all cost and keep our distance, but . . . I sorta can't. Neme's taught me how to defend myself, and use my gymnastics training to get me out'ta pickles. _said Rue. She glanced at the boy and said, _I kinda had to learn how to fight cause of how I am. I don't just see spirits, I can interact with them will all five of my senses, and they too can interact with me with all of their senses. Basically spirits can hurt me if they really want to, but in turn I can hurt them._

Jolene said, _Rue is the ultimate medium between the living and the dead . . . She's like, a living dead girl._

_That's an awesome song! _said Rue in hopes of changing the subject. _I like Dragula too. Oh, and Superbeast! I kinda like all of Rob Zombie's songs actually . . ._

_Don't like, change the subject chick, _deadpanned Jolene.

Naruto chuckled to himself and said, _Is this Zombie guy an Occult star or something?_

_Actually, he makes music in the Mundane realm, _said Jolene with a nod of her head. _He's like, popular not only because his music is awesome, but because the Mundanes of this world are intrigued with the occult, they like, don't really know that it __**really**__ exist though. Occultist keep hidden for reasons, Naruto. It isn't just about the Law, it's to survive because Mundanes outnumber us, and nobody wants the events from the past between Occultist and Mundanes to repeat itself._

Naruto's stomach grumbled rather loudly, causing them all to grow silent as the two girls stared at him. He laughed sheepishly and mumbled, _Yeah . . . I think we should find something to eat. I'm starving._

_Well, it is past five in the evening. _said Rue.

_What?_ whined Naruto as he stared at her with wide astonished blue-eyes. _What the hell do you mean that it's past five in the frickin' evening! How did we miss the morning and afternoon! We wasn't even in that place for no more than what, thirty or forty minutes?! That's two servings of ramen I've missed! No wonder I feel like I'm starving!_

He rubbed his abdomen and frowned.

_Well, ya see . . . I think while we were down there in that there ol' place . . . Time sorta became distorted, ya know. _mumbled Rue understandingly. _Stuff like that happens sometimes when you enter places like that. What seems like only minutes to us, can really be hours in the real world._

Jolene smiled and said, _Yeah, we like, might have lost a few hours, but think on the bright side. Now we don't have a long time to like, wait for the full moon to rise tonight. We can like, head over to where the Tears should be, and wait. _

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought as he said, _That is a good point . . . _He looked to Jolene and asked, _How long 'til we get to the Nereid's Tears?_

_It's back to the southwest. It should take maybe four hours tops to get there from here. . . it's just getting back to the island after this. It'll take maybe eight or nine hours to get back, 'cause the Tears are the furthest area out. We should have plenty of time to get back, _Jolene looked between Naruto and Rue and said, _ It's been let's see, we drank the potions near ten last night . . . reached the reef at twelve got here around four in the morning and it's five in the evening now. . . wow . . . that's like, already nineteen hours, right?_

_Two, plus four, plus . . . thirteen,_ mumbled Rue.

Naruto rubbed his hair and said, _If I can add right that's nineteen. And if my subtraction is right, we have seventeen hours left. Four and nine is thirteen . . . _he smiled toothily. _Plenty of time._

_I'm not sure what time the moon will rise, but it should give us plenty of time. We have to make it back to the island by ten in the morning, or we'll like, shift back to our normal selves before reaching the shore. _uttered Jolene.

_Yeah, but ya'll ain't including if we run into some type of trouble while Naruto gather's the Tears. I mean, if they bloom only once a year, those plants might be protected by something, or we might be competing with others who need or want them too, know what I mean? _added Rue. _We basically only have a four hour window to deal with whatever comes at us there were the Tears are._

Naruto swam ahead and said, _We'll just face it when it comes. Right now let's just focus on getting to the next mission area and maybe getting something to eat, alright guys?_

_Like, okay, _said Jolene. She snickered, _But, you're like going the wrong way, fearless leader. The Tears are back to your left, about forty-five degrees._

_I knew that, _mumbled Naruto as he quickly shifted and slowed his swim. He smiled and said, _I was just checking your vigilance, navigator. _

_Un-huh. _smirked Jolene.

After swimming for another fifteen minutes, the trio came across a school of fish. The school wasn't close, but rather another hundred feet or so in the distance.

_Food, _said Naruto as he glared ahead at the unsuspecting prey.

Jolene even sped up a bit as she said, _Sushi . . ._

_I hate fish, _whined Rue as she pouted.

Though . . . the smell those things were giving off made the black-haired girl's stomach growl. The three became silent as something else took over. Foreign instincts seized them as the need to hunt, to feed, to devour overcame them.

* * *

Neme gazed over the ocean as she let smoke seep from her lips and nose. The sun hung over the horizon and made the water sparkle as glitter tossed about a sheet of cyan blue. In the distance, a towering thunderhead slowly moved in. She inhaled another puff from her cigarette knowing she wouldn't see the sunset tonight.

"So, Eah's done gone, huh?" asked Cracker Jack as he hopped closer to the Harionago.

Neme nodded. "Will you be able to resurrect them?"

Cracker Jack scowled up at her and crossed his arms. "Of course I can. Just because I got cursed to be in this form doesn't mean my power changed any. I'm still the greatest Necromancer in the world. I can do anything that you request as long as it is within my capabilities. If Eah can actually find that brat's parents souls, I can make them return to flesh here, even with them being from another world, that's how badass I am, lady."

"Will they be the same as Naruto?" questioned Neme. She took another drag from her cigarette. "Will they still be able to use chakra as Naruto does?"

"Duh, it will be from his body's construct from which I build their own forms. I'll have to have to do a complete diagnostic scan on him in order to get a good gist of how his body works and whether or not there's more to their bodies than that of the humans here. I'll need things too. I'm going to need the boy's blood. About a pint of it should work. "said Cracker Jack for a cigar to materialize into his paw. "I'll have to start gathering supplies, preparing the coffins, the water . . . When are you planning Eah to get back so I have an idea of how long I have to get what I need?"

Neme flicked away the butt of her cigarette and said, "Two weeks; four tops."

"Perfect . . . I'll start prepping. I'll go to the south side of the Cove," stated Cracker Jack. "Once you all get back from this fishing expedition, let me know, and make sure the brats keep away from that side of the Cove. They can disrupt the flow and rites I'm gonna start setting for this. It takes time to grow bodies, especially adult alien bodies that you want back to their prime. Get the boy to me as soon as you can, got it?"

"Is there anything else you'll require?" asked Neme.

"Yeah . . . I need the enviroment there to be cold, like snow and ice cold, and some more cigars." grumbled Cracker Jack before he vanished in a wisp of smoke.

* * *

It was dark by the time the team made it to the rift where there was nothing but a green meadow of alga along the sand with spots of red and purples. Some of the alga was thin and string-like, as others were more spongy and thick. Spots of sand were throughout the glade of alga, along with small schools of fish.

There were so many different species of seaweed, that Naruto asked, _Which one of these do you think is the Nereid's Tears?_

Jolene shook her head, _I have no idea . . ._

_We have to wait and see which weed blooms in the light of the full moon, _stated Rue as she overlooked the area. She glanced between her two teammates and said, _Heads up ya'll, we're not alone here._

Rue was right on that part. There were an assortment of sharks, and other creatures . . . along with what looked like a woman? That couldn't have been right.

_Who dares to enter the sanctity of my domain, _said a willowy woman as she moved closer to the three, her form moving through the water without movement, almost as if she were gliding. She looked completely normal by womanly standards, well except for the ellegant starfish, pearl and gold bra she wore, and matching underwear. Gold coils were on her upper arms and ankles, as strips of sheer fabric white in color floated from her shoulders and lower back. Her hair was the color of the green alge on the seabed, as her eyes glowed a brillent blue.

_Rue . . . What do you think she is? _asked Jolene as neither of the trio took their eyes off the woman and the small army of other humanoids decked in armor and holding hallibards that appeared behind her.

Rue slightly narrowed her brows and said, _I think she's an Undine . . . The Water Elemental. She'll be a problem, especially if she's the Guardian of this place._

_I dare! _said Naruto as he swam ahead. _I need something that's here, and you and your army isn't going to stop me!_

The undine stopped and crossed her arms. Up close, she was much larger than a normal human woman . . . Her guards though, they were adverage in size. It was just their gear that made them look intimidating.

_You dare . . . Who are you to dare me, the High-Priestess of the Moon? You are nothing but children . . . What is your motive, what is it you have come all this way for, mortal? _questioned the undine as she scowled.

Rue shifted closer to Naruto as she said, _We were sent on a quest to collect Nereid's Tears. We need them so Naruto can have a concealment made._

Jolene added, _The sea witch Pelagia sent us._

_Pelagia,_ mumbled the undine as the hardness of her features softened. She glanced to her guards and waved her hand. The guards slowly moved away, and vanished within a glimmer. The priestess returned her gaze to the three children and asked, _How is she doing?_

Naruto looked confused and sarcastically gripped, _What? She's old and cryptic, that's how she's doing . . . Did you know that she didn't even tell us what the potion would do when we drank it?! And that she sent me to get a fang from a giant eel and said that I had to do it without killing it, and then sent me down into this abyss without telling me what was going to happen down in there! _

_Naruto, _whined Rue as she frowned.

_It wasn't all that bad, _laughed Jolene.

The undine lightly giggled, and then said, _That sounds like Pelagia . . . _

_How do you know her, Miss Priestess? _asked Rue.

_Anemone, _said the undine with a smile. _My name is Anemone, and I know Pelagia because she was once the High-Priestess of the Moon, she was my teacher. _Her visage became sadden as she said, _That was a while ago, back when the island existed . . . _She shook her head and set her attention back on the children. _So, you are here for the Tears. You must need a powerful concealment to need them. May I ask, how many of them is it you need?_

_Nine,_ said Naruto. _I need nine of them. Pelagia said they only bloom during a full moon._

_That is correct, _said Anemone. She turned and began toward the meadow and said, _The Tears only grow here and they are found within the Gardens . . ._ she glanced back at the animporphed preteens and said, _This way, I will grant you entrance to the Haliai Kingdom._

_Thank you, Lady Anemone._ said Rue as the trio followed the woman.

It was as if a veil lifted in a sheen of glitter when they passed through some type of barrier. Where there was only a meadow of alge before, now was a set of ruins, filled with life of more water spirits similar to Anemone.

_I am the protector of what is left of the Haliai, a humanoid race of water spirits who have attributes as sharks, and this is what is left of their homeland. _said Anemone.

_It's beautiful, _mumbled Rue as she gazed about at the classic Roman and Greek buildings, colorful reefs, and assortment of sea life.

Anemone glanced at the children and said, _Did Pelagia tell you the story behind the Nereid's Tears? _

_No, _said Naruto as he shook his head.

_May I tell it to you? _inquired Anemone as she looked between the three.

Rue nodded along with Jolene as the black-haired girl said, _I'd love to hear it!_

_Why not. _mumbled Naruto.

_There was once an island here, a sanctuary to all water spirits, Edellis Isle . . . One that their people's leader, the Umku'na destroyed about five years ago. _

_Why? _asked Naruto as he scowled. This story didn't start out like he thought it would.

Anemone frowned and said, _He never wanted to be the Umku'na. Being the Umku'na meant that his very life was tied with that of the islands. _

_What does that mean? _asked Naruto curiously.

They swam down into one of the marble structures and followed the long hall deeper into the ruins as Anemone said, _It meant that his soul was tied with that of the islands. Umku'na's gain great power, a force called island magik. Because of this power the Umku'na's own life force was bound with that of the island's life force. If the Umku'na was hurt, then Edellis would be hurt. If the Umku'na were to die . . ._

_I get it, _mumbled Naruto.

_Why did the Umku'na like, destroy the Island then? Didn't that mean he like, killed himself?_ asked Jolene.

Anemone curtly shook her head and said, _It should have been so, only Edellis sided with Casey's judgment. The island was ready to die. The spirits of the island became beguile throughout the generations . . . Once peaceful towards Mundanes, the water spirits of Edellis became cruel. The islanders would travel to the mainland only to lure humans to the island and enslave them. Some of the spirit races were on the verge of extinction, as the Haliai, and relied on descendants to reestablish their linages. Eventually though, humans were hated among many of the pure spirits, and when the island chose a half-breed for the Heir, many of the islanders rebelled and cursed the boy. _

_Lady Anemone, what do you mean by a half-breed? Was Casey half-human? _asked Rue as they passed a set of broken statues.

_Yes. His mother was human, as his father was Haliai. Casey left the Island after he was marked, and did not return for many years. He wouldn't have returned at all, if it wasn't for Island Elders discovering that Casey had fallen in love with a human. _

A light smile appeared on her face as she said, _Her name was Hali Morgen . . . _a frown then marred her features as she continued to travel along the ruins. _The Elders ordered for Hali to be captured, in order to lure the Heir back to his birth place so he could take over Welk's place as Umku'na, for Welk was dying, as was the Island. _She looked at Naruto and said, _By law of the Elders, once a human stepped foot onto the Island, they could never leave. Humans that did find themselves on the Island ended up as slaves to the water spirits . . . some even used as breeders . . . _She looked away from the children and said, _ I was Pelagia's student when Hali was brought to the Island. Rockweed was going to use her as a breeder, only Pelagia saved her, because she knew what would happen if anything happened to Hali while on the Island. _

_As predicted, Casey returned . . . All was fine for only a short while. _Anemone sighed and then said, _One of the nymphs on the Island believed she was destined to be with Casey, and through an elaborate scheme murdered Hali. Casey could do nothing, because the Elder's magik was older and stronger than the Island's magik. Hali died in his arms, and it was at that moment that Welk too died . . . and Casey accepted Edellis's power, to destroy Edellis and end the cycle. Casey granted the islands wish . . . _Anemone stopped and gestured to a lone statue of a beautiful woman, who's visage was of eternal sadness and regret. Anemone coldly looked into the woman's face and said,_ These ruins are all that is left . . . along with Juliana, Hali's murderer. In the destruction of the island, Casey immortalized Juliana as this. _ She looked to the children and said, _It was from this nereid's tears, that fell after she was turned into stone, from which the first Nereid's Tears grew. _Anemone gestured to the reddish leaved kelp-like plants that grew around the base of the statue.

_What like, happened to Casey? _asked Jolene.

Anemone smiled and said, _He's with Hali._

_He died too?_ asked Rue.

_No . . . There was a twist to the story . . . one that no one knew until the end. _said Anemone.

_What, how did it end, what was the twist?! _blurted Naruto.

Anemone giggled and said, _That is a story for another time. __ When the full moon reaches her peek overhead, the flowers will bloom here. It shouldn't be long. I'll arrange for food to be brought, so that way you may rest. You won't have much time left after collecting the flowers to get back to shore. The moon will not peek tonight until near two in the morning._

_We have a long night ahead of us, _mumbled Naruto.

_Thank you Lady Anemone. We really appreciate it. _said Rue to bow respectfully.

Anemone nodded and said, _Please, if you would, tell Pelagia I said hello, and give her word that we are all fine._

Rue nodded, _Yes, ma'am. _

Anemone nodded once more, before she simply vanished in a swirl leaving nothing but a few small bubbles in her wake.


End file.
